Adaptation
by Henordra
Summary: Permanent Hiatus: Every one has to adapt now that the Marauders (minus Peter) have returned. Sequel to 'Rewards'. Contains Slash, SBRL.
1. After the Full Moon

Author Notes:

This is the requested sequel to my fic 'Rewards', and really won't make sense if you don't read that first. I won't do an intro, so it will be assumed that you know what is going on from the previous fic. I am sorry about that, if you think it irritating, but I am naturally lazy. ;)

I want to thank all my reviewers of 'Rewards', I am grateful you took the time to write.

In 'Rewards' I wrote in Remus' POV, and I will continue to do so, but with a dose of Sirius too.

This fic picks up the morning after Rewards ends; so you can assume only the full moon night has passed.

Warnings:

Contains Slash, (SB/RL,) and potential references to past depression and suicidal thoughts.

Pairings:

SB/RL and JP/LP

Disclaimer

I own nothing. Sob…

Every one has to adapt now that the Marauders (minus Peter) have returned.

Sirius' POV

"Are you ok carrying him?" my best-friend asks me.

I look over at him, bemused,

"What do you suggest I do if I'm not?"

"Err…"

"It's fine, Prongs," I tell him. "He isn't heavy."

We continue across the field in silence. I am cradling my exhausted Mate to my chest, and Prongs strolls along beside me. We head back to the Burrow.

"Hey!" Lily grins and comes over to meet us.

When I say 'us', I mean that's what she pretends. She does, of course, only have eyes for my deer friend.

Ah, my jokes are just so original.

I stand and wait for them to stop kissing, while shifting Remus slightly in my arms. He mutters in his sleep and wraps his arms tighter around my neck, his face now pressed into the left side of my neck.

"How is he?" she asks, finally.

"Getting heavier," I tell her.

She and Prongs laugh,

"Well, I think we'll stand here a little longer then."

I stick my tongue out at him,

"I think I'll hit you later."

"Promises promises…" Prongs waves his hand dismissively.

"No, Prongs," I correct him, "'spanking' is a good thing, not hitting."

He blushes instantly,

"Gees, I hate you," he tells me.

I grin,

"Can we go in now?"

"Oh, is he ok?" Molly comes to the door, looking concerned.

"Yeah," I tell her, "just tired and a little clingy. Nothing unusual."

"Bring him inside," she beckons. "You can get him dressed."

I nod and follow her in. My Mate is currently wrapped in a blanket Prongs brought with us, as his clothes do not survive the transformation.

I get Moony dressed, which is no easy task, as he won't release his vice-grip on my neck. I carry him back down to the lounge.

"Is he ok?" Harry appears from Ron's room.

I nod,

"He's fine."

I practically collapse onto the sofa with Moony still in my arms. I shift him to sit up a little more, and rub his back comfortingly.

"Is he always like that?" Harry asks his father.

Prongs shrugs,

"Pretty much. He is awake briefly after he transformed, but then he falls asleep again until about eleven."

"He didn't that time in third year…" Harry objects, turning to me.

"Nah," I agree, "that's because I wasn't there. He reverted back to what he did before we met, which is struggle though the day exhausted."

"Shush, sleeping…" Moony mutters.

I rub his arm as he shifts slightly in my arms.

Prongs grins at Harry's worried face,

"Relax, he doesn't mind really. He's fine."

"Do you boys want some tea?" Molly asks.

I laugh at being called a 'boy', but nod,

"Yes, thanks, Molly."

"Yeah, me too," Prongs nods. "Thanks."

"Will he…?" she gestures to Moony.

"Not right now, thanks," I tell her.

She nods and heads off to the kitchen.

Ron wanders in followed by Ginny, he opens his mouth but I interrupt,

"Moony is fine, he is always tired and clingy after a full moon, so can everyone stop asking?"

Ron laughs easily,

"Sure, mate. Hey, does this mean he'll stop growling at us all?"

Prongs laughs,

"Yeah, probably. He was just grouchy because of his lack of a sex life without Padfoot."

Lily swats him on the arm.

"Have we actually done the introductions?" I ask.

"No," Prongs shakes his head and smirks. "But I am going to go out on a limb and say that you're Arthur's kids?"

Harry snorts with laughter,

"Yeah. This is my best friend Ron and his sister Ginny. The twins, Fred and George, have moved out, and so have Percy, Charlie and Bill," he pauses. "I'm sure you guys recognise my mum and dad?"

Ron nods, and looks between Harry and Prongs and back again,

"Creepy…"

"Charming!" Prongs huffs.

Ron blushes, but realises Prongs is just exercising his Marauder sense of humour.

I hear my Mate mutter under his breath, and his head lifts from my shoulder as he opens his eyes,

"Padfoot?"

"Hey, Moony," I greet him. "I'm right here, Love. You're fine."

He looks around at the others and his arms release my neck. He grips my robes tightly as he surveys them in silence. The whole room is quiet as they are watched.

"Safe then?" he asks. He always sounds childish and submissive after the moon.

"Yeah, you're perfectly safe, Moony," I tell him. "Go back to sleep."

He looks over at the clock, (the one that tells the time, not the other one).

"9 o'clock," he states.

"Yes, Love. Now go back to sleep. I'm right here."

He nods and wraps his arms round my chest as he falls asleep.

"He's so cute!" Ginny exclaims.

James grins,

"What I don't understand is why he fell for Padfoot."

I snort,

"Yeah, well I don't understand why Evans fell for you!"

"That's because of Quidditch, and 'cos I'm a genuinely great guy!" Prongs exclaims.

"Modest too," Lily rolls her eyes.

Prongs grins,

"See! She is just falling over her self to list my qualities."

We laugh easily, but my bark-like laugh seems to disturb my Mate, as his grip round my chest tightens drastically. I wince and try to pry his arms off to save my ribs.

"You need help, Padfoot?" Prongs sounds suddenly concerned. "I think your face is turning blue."

I shoot him a withering look, then emit a small squeak as his grip tightens again.

"You know, I've told you before about letting him hold you like that," he tells me unhelpfully as he stands up and moves over. "Moony, wake up!"

Prongs shakes his shoulder as I continue to try and breathe.

I hear my Mate grunt and look up sleepily.

"Hey, Moony, fancy letting Padfoot breathe now?" Prongs asks.

He releases me instantly,

"Padfoot, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…" his eyes fill with tears.

"Shh…" I murmur, as I kiss him gently. "I'm fine and I love you."

He smiles contentedly and nuzzles his face back under my chin.

"Is he growling?" Ron asks after a minute.

"No," Prongs shakes his head.

"He purrs," Lily gushes suddenly, "isn't it cute?"

"Aww!" Ginny clearly agrees. I silently agree, but to let Prongs get hold of such ammo would be suicidal.

"Werewolves purr?" Harry sounds sceptical.

I shrug lightly,

"This one does."

Later, Remus' POV

I wake up slowly, feeling refreshed.

"Padfoot?"

"Hey Moony," I can hear he is grinning. "You feel awake now?"

"Yes, thank you," I tell him. "Where are we?"

"The Weasley's living room," I hear James tell me.

"Oh," I look around and realise I am in a room full of people. "Err…"

Being surrounded by friends is normally a good thing, but as I am currently curled up in my Mate's arms it is rather embarrassing.

I notice Ginny mouth 'Cute!' to Lily, and she grins in response.

"I'm cute?" I ask.

The girls start giggling and Sirius snorts lightly,

"Course you are, Love," he tells me. "But you're all mine."

I sigh happily and rest against his shoulder,

"What time is it?"

"Ten passed eleven," Sirius tells me.

Simultaneously Prongs announces,

"Time for elevenses!"

"Hungry," I agree.

"Ah, well we'd better find you some food," Prongs grins. "Shame on you, Padfoot, for not feeding your doggy!"

"I'm not a doggy," I object. "I'm a werewolf."

"A cute, fluffy, hug-able canine," Prongs teases, "so definitely a doggy!"

Later

"That was lovely, thank you, Molly," I smile pleasantly.

"Yeah, it really hit the spot!" James beams.

Molly smiles,

"You're welcome."

"We'll help…" Sirius stands up to clear up.

"No no!" she objects. "You are guests, you just sit there and relax."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sit down," she smiles.

Sirius nods and sinks back into his seat.

She gathers up the remains of dinner and takes them off to the sink.

"You're getting along better with her," I murmur.

He nods,

"Probably because we are no longer fighting over Harry."

I look over at James and Harry, who seem to be discussing Quidditch and the state of the league tables with Ron.

"He has James now," I state.

"He doesn't need protecting, is more like it," Sirius murmurs as he leans over to kiss my neck.

I whimper quietly,

"God, I missed you, Padfoot…"

"Mmm…" he agrees as the line of kisses extends up past my ear and to my nose, then down to my lips.

I wrap my arms around him as our tongues duel.

"Hey!" James calls. "I thought we agreed to no kissing at the table?"

"That was then…" I murmur.

"This is now…" Sirius grins as his hands stray up and down my back.

Author notes:

Well, hello again. I am sorry I have taken so long to post this, but I was away. Also I couldn't seem to get it right. I think I am happy with this version, though. I hope you like it, and I will hopefully get the next chapter out soon.

The title of this story is subject to revision, so if you have any ideas…

Thanks for reading.

PS As before, if you spot any spelling errors, etc, can you please point them out to me? Thanks again.

PPS Heh heh, it has been pointed out to me that 'Adaption' isn't a word, though my computer seems to think it is. Thanks to Larna Mandrea for noting that, and I do feel very silly… I have changed the title to 'Adaptation' which, hopefully, is a word! I would still like your input if you think it should be changed.


	2. New Day

Author notes:

Heh heh, I am glad you people like this, and I do promise that there is something resembling, shock horror, a PLOT! I know that is unusual for sequels and I hope that it is good enough not to disappoint you.

Remus' POV

I sit and stare out the window at the now waning moon. My Mate kisses my nape gently.

"A kazillion pounds for your thoughts?" he offers.

"What happened to a penny?"

"I'm sure they're worth more than a penny."

I laugh,

"I was just thinking how odd all of this is!"

"How so?" I can hear his laughter.

"Gee, I don't know," I laugh again, "maybe the fact we are 21 again?"

I freeze suddenly, my eyes widening in surprise. A new thought has just occurred to me.

"Moony? What's wrong?" I feel his concern.

"The twins are older than us…" I turn to him suddenly. "We are only a year older than Harry, and the twins are older than us!"

He lets out a bark of a laugh,

"You scared me! Don't do that."

"I'm sorry," I offer, but we both don't mind.

A knock at the door stops the conversation.

"Come on in, Prongs!" Sirius calls.

James comes in, looking amused,

"How'd you know it was me, Padfoot?"

"I always know when it's you," my Mate grins. "So, what's up?"

"Ah, Lily and Ginny seem to be doing a female bonding thing… I managed to escape with my life, and have come to hide out here."

"They do seem to be getting along well, don't they…" I murmur.

"Yeah," James laughs, "I'm not going to think about how odd that is."

"How do you think Harry is doing, with all this dumped on him?" Sirius asks.

"He seems ok," James grins, "taking it in his stride, the way we do."

"He is very like you," I smile; well aware that of the three of us I probably know him best.

"Yeah," James nods, "I've noticed that in our chats. We're still trying to figure out if we are more comfortable with him calling me 'Dad' or 'James'. He is calling Lily 'Mum', but with me… I dunno, I think I want him to call me James."

Sirius shrugs, and offers a grin,

"It's not like you're 'Dad' material anyway!"

James half-heartedly thwacks Sirius over the head, and turns to me,

"What do you think, oh wise and wonderful Moony?"

"You do whatever you think is right, Prongs," I tell him. "He is your son, you should work it out between you."

"Throw me a bone here!" he complains." Do you think it would be odd for him to call me James?"

I pause,

"No, I don't."

He beams,

"Thank you."

We chat idly for a few minutes and I slowly withdraw myself from the conversation. I think over all the things that we will have to do now that we are back. Molly has been kind in letting us stay, but we can't stay forever. We will need a place of our own, and Sirius and the others need jobs… For starters we need to tell the Ministry that we are back…

"Moony? Love?" Sirius shakes me gently.

"Moony, what's wrong?" James asks.

"Wrong?"

"You were scowling, Love," Sirius tells me.

"Oh," I shrug and offer a sorry grin, "I was thinking of all the stuff we will have to do now that we're back."

"Arrgh!" James makes a strangled noise suddenly. "There are so many people that we need to tell!"

Sirius' eyes widen,

"Dumbledore, McGonagall, Kingsley, Tonks…"

"Snape!" they announce together.

I laugh,

"Can you imagine his face?"

"Priceless!" Sirius flops backwards on the bed resting his head on his hands. "This is going to be fun, I can tell!"

"You do need to get a job, Siri," I remind him. "Your money won't last forever."

"True," he grins. "Maybe I can get my Auror job back."

"Don't see why not," James grins, "what with your grades!"

"Did the Ministry ever actually pardon me?" Sirius turns to me, slightly worried.

"Yes," I smile softly, "they did, Love. Harry made sure of that once we won the war."

He beams,

"That's good."

There is another knock at the door and Ginny pokes her head in,

"Hullo?"

"Hey!" James beams.

"Lily says to tell you that, and I quote, 'Us girls have finished our highly-dangerous-to-the-opposite-sex-feminine-ritual so you can return safe now'."

Sirius laughs,

"Hear that, Prongs? Lily won't hurt you, you can stop hiding now!"

"I'm relieved," James nods, "girls are scary."

Ginny rolls her eyes and wanders off laughing.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," James gets up and leaves us alone.

"Mmm," Sirius grins, "I got you all to myself again."

I smile,

"Yes, you do. I'm tired, come join me?"

"Of course," Sirius smiles.

Sirius' POV

"You're gorgeous, you know that, right?" I murmur to my Mate as we settle down for the night.

"So you keep telling me," he buries his face in my neck again.

I wrap him up in my arms,

"I still think it is funny that Molly thought she had to apologise for _only_ giving us a single bed."

I hear him chuckle softly,

"Have we ever had a double bed?" he asks.

I think back carefully,

"No, we haven't. At school we obviously didn't, in the flat we shared a single then in Grimmauld we had two singles, but you joined me in mine."

"We shared at school, too," he snuggles up closer.

"True," I agree.

"D'you want… bed…" he murmurs, very close to sleep now.

"Let's talk about it later, ok?"

"Mmm…" he sighs and falls asleep.

Later

"Good morning!" I bounce into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Prongs grins. "Sleep well?" I can practically feel his leer.

"Yes, thank you very much," I roll my eyes. "You honestly expect me to seduce him so soon after the moon?"

"You did before, remember Christmas in year six? I could hear you from the common room!"

"Nonononono! Can't hear you! Tra lah la lah la lah!" Harry sticks his fingers in his ears.

"What's up with him?" I ask as I sit down.

Prongs grins,

"I keep pretending to want to give him the 'Talk'!"

I snort with laughter,

"You're joking?"

"Nope, and I keep almost telling him details about my sex life with Lily," he smirks evilly. "He doesn't seem to want to know, strangely enough."

"Prongs, that's cruel!" I laugh.

"I'm a Marauder!" he grins. "It goes with the territory."

"How's Remus?" Harry asks quickly.

"He's good," I tell him. "He's never been much of a morning person if he doesn't have to be."

"He's lying," Prongs states. "It's just that Moony gets up at around eight, whereas us Quidditchers get up at… what's the time?"

"Five thirty," Harry tells him.

I laugh,

"Well fine, but I stand by the fact half the morning is gone by the time he gets up."

Ron strolls into the room,

"Hullo…" he drops into a chair and buries his head in his arms on the table.

"Hi!" I shout enthusiastically, just to make him wince.

"Why are you up if you want to sleep?" James asks, amused.

"Urrgh…" Ron tells him.

"I see…" Prongs nods his head sagely; as if he has been passed some very wise and insightful knowledge.

"Ron is a… _Quidditcher_ too," Harry tells him. "He just doesn't like it when that wakes him up so early when we don't even have Practice anymore."

Later, Remus' POV

I wake up slowly and shiver. I sigh when I realise my Mate is gone; he always has gotten up early. I blink slowly and sit up to look out the window.

I jump violently when I feel a kiss on the back of my neck,

"Sirius!"

"Hey, Love!" he had been sitting in a chair by the bed, apparently watching me sleep.

"What are you doing here?"

He gives me a strange look,

"Making sure you don't wake up alone?"

"But you're up and dressed… and I know you must have woken up at five, like normal, and you've never come back before…" I find myself rambling.

"But you would like me to," he grins, "and this second chance means I get to turn over a new leaf!"

"I…"

I don't know what to say to him. To say thank you would make it sound like I disapproved of his habits for years, which isn't totally true. I fancy saying that he doesn't have to do this for me, but I know he won't accept that.

"It was silly of me," he tells me, seeing my confusion, "to take you for granted that way. I always get to wake up with you, but you only do when it is the full moon. It was selfish of me, and I'm sorry. I guess before I always told myself that you were fine, and that it didn't bother you, but I was fooling myself. I knew it bothered you, because it would bother me. I know that I am right, too, because as you woke you reached out for me, then sighed when you realised I wasn't there. I'm sorry I didn't decide to do this before, Love."

"I…" again words fail me.

"I'm still going to get up at five," he continues, "but I'll come back, if at all possible, in time to see you wake up."

"I love you," I grin as I rediscover the ability to speak.

"Love you too," he grins back. "Let's get you some food and discuss life, the universe and everything!"

I laugh and follow him downstairs.

"That is exactly it!" I hear James exclaim. "There is no way that could work."

"Yeah," Harry agrees. "They either don't know what they're talking about, or they are purposefully…"

"What we talking about?" my Mate pushes me into a chair and goes breakfast hunting.

"Werewolf 'cures' in the paper today," James rolls his eyes. "They're all complete rubbish."

"Yeah," Harry nods. "There is one here that seems to think that is you feed a werewolf a diluted silver solution it will cure them."

I grimace,

"That would be a very painful way to kill me."

James snorts,

"Yeah, well, don't worry, we're not going to test them on you or anything."

"Thank you," I laugh.

"Where's Lily?" Sirius asks as he hands me a fry-up and a cup of tea.

"Probably bonding with my sister…" Ron tells him. "Which, I will tell you, is a very odd thought."

"Lily always has been odd," Sirius tells him, perfectly aware that Lily has entered the room behind him.

"Gee, thanks Sirius," she laughs.

"My pleasure, dear Lady!" he bows gracefully.

"I wish you'd teach James how to bow like that…" she looks almost wistful.

Sirius snorts with laughter,

"Teach James to bow? I have more grace in my arse than he has in his entire body!"

I promptly start choking on my tea and Ron helpfully slaps me on the back.

"Of course, Moony would know," James grins wider as I blush deeply.

"Can we please try to act our age?" I plead.

"Well, we came back from the dead about two days ago," James grins. "Does that mean we have to act like new-borns?"

"You know, I am beginning to think being a werewolf is nothing next to putting up with you lot," I groan.

"It is terrible that you were cursed in such a terrible way," my Mate strikes a dramatic pose, "But, hey, at least you have me!"

"Thanks, Siri, thanks a lot," I tell him, sarcastically.

"Sheesh," Sirius sighs, "I come back from the dead and this is all the thanks I get…"

"Anyway!" Lily interrupts. "How about we make some plans for the future?"

"You want us to plan something that isn't a prank?" Sirius acts totally shocked.

"Pranks? What about pranks?" the twins walk in.

"Hullo," James looks amused. "You must be the two who found our map."

The two of them grin widely,

"That would be us," Fred smirks.

"That map helped us a lot," George grins too.

"You're welcome," James grins mischievously.

"Out of interest," Sirius leans against the table, "did you ever talk to it?"

"Huh?" Harry looks over at him.

"Yeah," George laughs, "how do you think we leant how to use it? It's not like we normally go around tapping old pieces of parchment with our wands and saying 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good'."

"The map is a lot like that diary you told me about," I tell Harry. "The minds of the Marauders at sixteen are preserved in it."

"It certainly took us a while to convince you to let us use it!" Fred complains.

Sirius laughs,

"Yeah, well, we weren't going to give up the secret to just anyone, were we?"

"You know Molly will probably kill us if she learns it was our fault they got into so much trouble…" I grin and sip my tea.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure she doesn't find out, won't we?" Sirius smirks and kisses me lightly.

"You three are impossible," Lily sighs. "How did you become a prefect Remus?"

I laugh,

"What about James? He was Head-boy!"

"You remember that too? I was sure I must have hallucinated…" Lily smirked.

"Heh," James grins, "I was the best Head-boy ever! Not once did I tell on anyone, unless they were from Slytherin, of course."

"Of course," Sirius grinned. "And those occasions when you took justice into your own hands…"

"For the good of the school," James nods solemnly, fighting a grin. "The teachers were so busy, it was only right for me to act in their stead."

"For once I agree with you," Lily's face is suddenly hard as she remembers the circumstances.

"Don't ask," Sirius and I quickly tell the others.

"Ok…" Harry agrees, confused.

"So," Ron claps his hands together. "What is everyone going to do today?"

"Tell the Ministry that we're back would be a good start," Lily grins suddenly. "We'll need to be questioned using Veritaserum, and so on. Then we will probably be pounced on by reporters…"

"So, all in all, it should be quiet an interesting day!" Sirius smirks.

Author notes

Thanks for reading! And I hope you have enjoyed it. I know the style is different from Rewards, but I felt that was rather necessary. Thanks again.


	3. What Happens Now?

Sirius' POV

"Well… that was interesting…" I tell Prongs as the three of us apperate back to the Burrow.

"You're telling me!" he laughs. "I didn't realise so many people would come out to welcome us back…"

"We always were rather popular," Lily points out, "and I guess no small part is due to hero worship."

"I suppose so," I agree, "but how did they all know?"

Before they can respond my Mate hurries over, looking very nervous,

"Siri, are you ok? Did it go ok?"

"Moony," I grin and scoop him into my arms. He wraps his arms around my neck.

"Everything is fine, Moony," Lily tells him.

"What happened?" he asks. "You were gone for hours."

I shrug,

"We arrived at the Ministry with Dumbledore and were taken down to the Hearing rooms. We were given Veritaserum and made to tell who we are, and that I am innocent. Then the Ministry gave me all sorts of apologies for the error, which I forgave, and re-registered us on the 'alive register', or whatever they call it. James and I then registered as Animagi. At around that time I guess the news was leaked so before we could leave we were suddenly overrun with well-wishers and journalists wanting the full story."

"It was crazy," Prongs interrupts as I pause. "They were all cheering and welcoming us back like heroes…"

"I'm just glad you are ok…" he presses his face under my chin.

"Shh, Moony, we're fine," I rub his back, only too aware of how much he has been through recently.

"I won't survive loosing you again…" he murmurs.

"You aren't going to loose me, Love," I tell him.

"I'm glad," he looks up and smiles. "I just wish you had let me come with you."

"I know you do," I nod, "but I didn't want to remind the press about you… The last thing we need right now is people remembering that their hero is friends with a werewolf."

"Or, now they have accepted you, that you are my lover…" he sounds dispirited.

"Yes, I am," I force him to look into my eyes. "I love you, and I don't care if the whole world finds out, but I don't want you to get hurt…"

"I know…"

"Sheesh guys," Prongs rolls his eyes and spoils the moment, "is this a touchy-feely moment or what? Get a grip!"

I let out a bark of a laugh,

"Gee, way to spoil the moment, Spiky."

"It's my duty," he smirks.

"What happens now?" my Mate asks, as James and Lily walk inside to tell the others the news.

"We get on with our lives," I tell him. "I spoke to a guy and he said that I can owl him if I want an interview about becoming an Auror again."

"That's great," he smiles, but doesn't meet my eyes.

"Hey, s'ok to be scared, Love," I tell him gently.

I hear him chuckle,

"When was it you became the mature one in this relationship?" he asks, his eyes still on something clearly fascinating on my chest.

"Hmm," I laugh, "since you have needed me to be?"

"Thank you…" he murmurs and wraps his arms around me again.

"What's wrong with you, Moony? You were fine only this morning, now you're acting all… angsty."

"I can't loose you," he tells me again, now meeting my eyes. "You left and I realised that and… it hurt, Siri… You had only been gone for a few minutes and it already hurt…"

I scowl,

"I'm sorry, Love, we shouldn't have left you so soon."

"I wasn't alone, I'm just being silly…"

It really irritates me when he is so self-depreciating.

"You aren't Remus," I tell him sharply, "you are reacting how any other normal, feeling human-being would. You have been though hell, Remus… You have been bitten by a werewolf and abused by anyone who knows what you are. Then you found us and thought everything was great, then Prongs and Lily died and you thought I betrayed you. You lived without your Mate for 12 years, before I came back, and then our situation was hardly perfect. Then you loose me again, in a worse way than before. You keep going, like the insanely responsible caring man that you are, then finally decide to give in. Harry offers you a cure, but it seems to go terribly wrong. The attempt to heal you is the last straw and the next day you slit your wrist…" I pause my tirade and shake him gently.

"Moony, so many people would have given up before the first hurdle in your life, but you crossed them all."

"Not all, I gave up in the end…" tears are slipping down his cheeks, but he is smiling weakly.

"Sheesh…" I pull him into my arms. "You are, without doubt, the strongest person I have ever know. The very fact you need me now means that any one else would have… I don't know… people aren't designed to take the crap you have, Remus."

"I take the good with the bad," he shrugs.

"Chocolate and tea make your life worth living?" I joke lightly.

He laughs suddenly, his eyes sparkling again,

"Yes, now you know my secret. My life continues due only to the continued existence of Honeydukes!"

"Hmm, I'd better stock up then, make sure I keep you happy," I lead him into the house.

"You'd better," he puts an arm around my waist and rests his head on my shoulder. "I'll get very lonely when you go off to work very day."

The slightly depressed tone has come back to his voice, so I lead him upstairs to our room instead of to the living room.

"It won't be perfect like you want it to be, Siri," he tells me.

"Maybe not, " I agree, "but that doesn't mean it won't be good. School wasn't perfect, but we still had fun."

He thinks that over for a few minutes,

"You're right," he nods. "I am being defeatist."

"You are speaking from an experience that doesn't count anymore," I tell him.

"It was a bad experience," he shrugs.

"I'm here this time, and so are Prongs, Lily and Harry," I tell him. "You're safe this time, Love."

I see a brilliant smile light up his features and know I have gotten my message though to him.

I lay down on the bed and gesture for him to join me. He complies instantly and rests against my chest, his right left wrapping around my own as his right hand fiddles with my left sleeve.

"You know we haven't had sex for years…" I hear him murmur.

I let out a snort of laughter,

"You're insatiable!"

He laughs with me,

"I didn't say I wanted to; I was just making an observation."

"So you don't want to have sex with me?" I ask, teasingly; knowing that right now he doesn't.

"Not really," he doesn't even hesitate before teasing back at me.

We lay in comfortable silence for several minutes.

"I will do," he tells me, "but not right now."

"You speak like you are fending me off…" I grumble. "Why does everyone think I'm gagging for it all the time?"

"Because you are?" he offers, sniggering.

"If I didn't know that you would take it seriously I would threaten to dump you," I mutter.

"You can't leave me," I can hear the humour in his voice. "No one else will put up with you, and then how will you get laid?"

"Humph, and why does everyone always assume you're the innocent one?"

Remus' POV

I know he is just trying to cheer me up. I know that what we are talking about is skirting the matter at hand. I know that what he is telling me is pretty irrelevant.

I also know that despite all that it is working, and I do feel better.

He is my Mate, and he knows how to make me feel better.

"Siri?"

"Umm?"

"I love you."

"Thank you."

There is a long pause then I poke him hard in the stomach.

"Oi!" he laughs. "I love you too."

"Better," I tell him.

Another long, but not uncomfortable, silence follows.

"Siri?"

"Umm?"

"Why aren't we downstairs with the others?"

"Because we needed some time to ourselves."

"Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he chuckles.

"James will come looking for us soon," I tell him.

"Of course he will, he worries about you almost as much as I do."

"I'm fine."

"God, Remus, that is such a cliché!" he exclaims.

"It is?" I am baffled.

"Yeah!" he nods. "One partner who is so obviously NOT fine telling their partner that they are because they fear… something… You don't need to fear me, Mate, and I know you are not fine."

I laugh gently,

"Ok, I love you and for the moment I am happy. Will that do for now?"

"It'll have to do, but I do know why you aren't fine, Moony," he tells me. "You don't need to explain that to me, I just don't like it when you lie to me."

"Sorry," I apologise.

"Get some sleep, Love," he tells me. "I'm not going anywhere."

I feel my heart swell happily when he says that.

"Thank you, Padfoot."

I close my eyes as I nuzzle against his chest. His arms hold me securely and I slowly drift off.

Author notes:

Yay! I finally finished this darn chapter! I apologise if it is terrible but is the hardest thing I have ever written. I honestly don't know why that is. Looking back over it, it is nothing special… I'm sorry about that. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long…

The title is growing on me now, but if you think that I should change it please do tell me.


	4. Interactions

Author notes:

Hello all my kind reviewers! I just thought I would address a point my flat mate keeps pointing out to me… These first chapters are practically plot-less; this is because I wasn't going to include this part of the story, instead I was going to jump straight to when the marauders have been back for a few weeks. Then, as often happens, my mind decided that I _should_ include these fillers. I do hope that the plot will appear; though it won't ever be as set in stone as 'Rewards'.

Just three other things while I remember. One: You have convinced me to keep the title as it is, and I promise to stop bringing that up. Two: The idea of writing the marauders at school did occur to me, and I may well start on that after I have finished this. Thank you to **NixiNox **for the support there. Three: it has been pointed put to me that there isn't much Harry-James-Lily interaction in this story. That is because I don't think my third person work is as good as my first person, and I don't want to be in their POV. However, as it was requested, and I am a sucker for punishment, I have given it a go in this chapter!

Third Person POV (one week after the full moon)

James lies on the floor and skims through a broomstick magazine. He isn't looking for anything in particular; more like catching up with the current capabilities.

Harry wanders into the room and almost trips over his father while trying to straighten his collar.

"Sorry," he tells him as he drops onto the sofa.

"S'ok," James laughs. "It is a pretty stupid place to lay."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Harry teases.

"Where are you off to?" James asks, noticing that his son is rather dressed up.

"Back to Auror training," Harry rolls his eyes. "Half the stuff I already know…"

James laughs,

"Sounds ideal! I always loved lessons when I already knew everything, it means you get to mess around."

"Yeah, well, you were the _bad boy _of the school. I am the _golden _'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' boy-who-lived'."

James shrugs,

"Just cos they think you're good doesn't mean you have to be. I mean, look at Moony. All the teachers are convinced he is the innocent one of the group, but he just new how to hide it better!"

"I'm not sure mum would want to know that you just told me that!" Harry laughs as James grimaces.

"Oh, come on! You aren't going to tell her, are you?"

"I don't know…" Harry grins evilly. "What's in it for me?"

James splutters,

"What's in it for…? I'm your father! Have some decency!"

"You didn't answer the question," Harry points out casually.

James opens his mouth to reply as Sirius strolls into the room,

"Padfoot! Tell Harry he can't blackmail me because I'm his father!"

Sirius turns to face his friend, still lying on the floor,

"You what?"

"He is blackmailing me! He is going to… tell Lily what a lovely and gorgeous woman she is and how much I love her."

"What is going on in here?" Lily asks, obviously not believing James' mid-sentence correction.

"Well," Harry grins, "James was just…"

"DECIDING which _very _expensive present to buy Harry for his 21st birthday!" James interrupts.

Lily blinks,

"Harry, what is really going on?"

Harry just smiles sweetly,

"Nothing, mummy."

Sirius is too busy laughing to join in the conversation.

"I don't trust you three," Lily scowls playfully.

"Ah, but Lily!" James jumps up, only to fall to his knees before her. "My dearest most beautiful flower! My love for you eclipses the largest of stars and floods the deepest of seas!"

Sirius falls to the floor clutching his chest as he laughs even harder.

Harry watches in amusement.

"What do you want, James?" Lily asks, looking even more suspicious of them.

"I wish for something from you, my love, and I beg on my knees for you to give it to me!" James declares. "I wish for a kiss, oh beautiful maiden!"

Sirius is now reduced to making short gasping noises as he laughs silently from his spot on the floor.

"Oh, well, I guess I can give you a kiss," Lily grins. "But on one condition."

"Name it, oh stunning waterfall of light!" James waves his arms around to illustrate his point.

"You have to kiss me back," she smiles as he jumps to his feet.

"Gosh, I think that can be arranged," he tells her, speaking normally again.

Before Harry can escape the room he is suddenly watching his parents, (barely a year older than him,) French kissing.

"Oh god…" Harry mutters, strangely captivated as he watches his parents.

Sirius staggers to his feet to stand by Harry,

"You'd think they'd have the decency to come up for air!" Harry snaps.

"You are well on your way to being just like your father," Sirius smirks. "If you feel a sudden urge to take photos, Moony has a camera in his bedside cabinet."

Harry blushes violently and tears his eyes away from the rather disturbing sight,

Sirius' POV

Me, Prongs and Harry are just relaxing on the patio now that Harry is back from training. Moony is reading something in the living room, and has politely told me to buzz-off, as he couldn't concentrate.

"James?" Harry asks.

"Yeah?" Prongs opens his eyes a crack to look at his son.

"Why did you take photos of Sirius and Remus… err… kissing?"

Prongs grins, but blushes slightly,

"I guess you've seen them?"

Harry blinks,

"Yeah, I looked through an album of Remus' a while back."

Prongs nods,

"I…"

"He got off on it," I tell Harry.

"Screw you, Padfoot," Prongs answers lazily.

"Love to, Babe, but Moony would get jealous," I counter easily.

"Have I told you lately that I hate you?" he replies.

"Yeah… yeah I think you did," I grin.

"You haven't answered my question," Harry tells his father.

"Smart is this one," I tell Prongs.

"He is my son," Prongs grins.

"That's my point," I nod, faking confusion. "I think he must be mine."

James glares at me good-naturedly before turning his attention back to his baffled son.

"I took the photos because I was sick of just doing landscapes," he explains, "I wanted to try people. I tried just normal friend photos, but I wanted to try something with more of an atmosphere."

"I didn't know photography was a hobby of yours," Harry tells him.

"Not many people do," I tell him. "Prongs likes to keep _some _things to himself."

Prongs grins,

"I also wanted to see what would happen," at the confused look he receives he decides to elaborate. "Haven't you ever wondered if the photo-people ever want to do things that they weren't doing when the photo was taken?

"I mean, take Padfoot and Moony. They were kissing when I took the photo, they weren't even aware of when I would be taking the pictures. Now, do photo-Sirius and photo-Moony know that they are a photo? Or will they act they way Sirius and Moony do? In which case will the kisses ever evolve into something more, or will they kiss forever?"

"I can honestly say I have never given it any thought," Harry tells him.

I let out a bark of a laugh and Prongs chuckles.

"Sure, but can you see why I find it interesting?"

Harry thinks for a minute,

"Yeah, I guess so."

We sit in a comfortable silence for several minutes.

"Damn you!" he exclaims suddenly, grinning, "now I can't stop wondering about it!"

Prongs laughs easily,

"I know what you mean."

"What is the answer anyway?" Harry asks, obviously curious now.

"We don't know," I tell him. "Everything fell apart before we had a chance to look into it in more detail."

"Moony might know," Harry muses.

"Nah, Moony was never interested in finding out."

"But he went along with it?"

"Of course," James grins. "Like he'd turn down the opportunity to get some good photos of him kissing his Mate!"

Remus' POV

I am quite impressed. Sirius has actually let me read my book in piece for over an hour now.

I sense Lily coming into the room and offer her a wave without looking up.

"Hey Remus," she sits on the sofa beside me.

"Hello Lily," I keep reading until I finish my page, then put in my bookmark and look up. "Are you ok?"

She laughs,

"You are the one everyone is worried about!"

I smile gently,

"I'm ok. Sirius has convinced me that this life may work out better than my last."

Sirius bounds into the room,

"Hello Love!" he grins at me and wedges himself between Lily and me on the two-seater sofa.

"Sirius!" Lily complains then surrenders her seat to my Mate.

"If you're interested Prongs and Harry are outside discussing the photos he took of us," Sirius tells Lily.

Lily scowls slightly and heads off to find her little family.

"Are they?" I ask.

"No, don't be daft," Sirius laughs. "They're talking about Quidditch."

"Siri, that's cruel!"

"Maybe, but it does mean that we have some time to ourselves," he smirks.

"Oh?" I put my book aside and put on a show of innocence. "What do you want to do now that we are alone?"

"Weeeeeell…" he draws out the word as he moves to straddle my lap, "I was thinking we might…"

We kiss gently, allowing the passion to build up. My Mate pushes me back against the sofa and I wrap my arms around his neck.

Third Person POV

Harry mutters to himself as he walks back into the house,

"Why me? Why do I have to end up with parents who believe that the best way to get along with me is to treat me like a friend? I mean, I wouldn't be so bad if they didn't take it as far as making out in front of me…"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness…" Ginny smirks at him as he stops by her.

"I was speaking aloud?"

"Yeah," she grins wider.

"I swear my parents are mad," he rolls his eyes. "I think I'll go sit in the living room…"

He stalks off into the living room and promptly gets an eyeful of Sirius and Remus.

"Damn it guys!" he splutters. "Is there anywhere I can go to escape watching my guardians making out?"

"Your room…" Remus almost purrs as Sirius ignores the interruption and continues to nibble on his ear.

"Why don't you go to yours?!" Harry objects.

"The kid has a good point, Moony…" Sirius allows.

"Gee, thanks Sirius," Harry rolls his eyes.

Sirius lets off a bark-like laugh and pulls his Mate to his feet,

"Come on, Moony, let's go upstairs and find out if we can still cast Silencing Charms that lasts for four hours…"

"I didn't hear that…" Harry shakes his head, "I sooo didn't hear that."

Author Notes:

Well, that didn't come out the way I expected it to. Huh, oh well. As you can see I have tried to add more Harry-James-Lily, and to compensate the slash lovers I have the suggestive ending. I hope that keeps everyone happy.

I am sorry this has taken so long, but Adaptations is harder to write than Rewards, as I have no set idea where it is going. The plot I had before has flown out the window, and I am just hoping that another replaces it soon before this just becomes an extended load of twaddle… Err, sorry I didn't actually intend to write that, but I guess you guys deserve to know what is going on. The chapter after this is actually almost finished, so hopefully it won't take me to long to put that up too.

Thanks again for reading.


	5. Moving Out together?

Remus' POV

The moon is just starting to wax again, after the new moon, so the marauders have been back for two weeks now.

I sit on a sofa reading the morning paper and sipping my tea.

My Mate, James, Ron and Harry have gone off to play Quidditch. I have never felt overly safe up in the air, so I am occupying myself alone.

I think Lily has gone off shopping with Ginny and Molly. Arthur is at work.

I'm skim-reading an article on wand research as I think over this new life.

I agree with my Mate, this life is going better than my last.

James' POV

"This is a great broom!" Padfoot exclaims as he does a loop the loop.

"It had better be!" I grin. "Evans might just kill us if she found that we had bought two brooms that cost this much and didn't even like them!"

Padfoot smirks,

"Hey, she's your wife, she can't do anything to me!"

"Maybe not, but Moony can," I tell him.

He grimaces as his broom pulls up next to mine,

"True," he continues to scowl.

"What's wrong?" Harry and Ron pull up beside us.

"He is worrying about his boyfriend," I shrug, unconcerned.

"Is something wrong with Remus?" Ron asks.

Padfoot shakes his head,

"Not as such, but I worry about him."

"He's always worried about him," I add.

"Wouldn't you, if he was your boyfriend?" Padfoot accuses.

"Padfoot, I worry about him and he isn't my boyfriend," I tell him. "Moony is a fighter, though, and he doesn't want us to worry."

"Yeah, well…" Padfoot mutters, and sighs.

We hover in silence for a while, then Ron breaks the silence,

"I thought we came out here to play?"

Padfoot lets out his bark-like laugh,

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go!"

Later

"Remus is ok, isn't he?" Harry asks me as we sit on the grass outside.

I shrug,

"Moony and being 'ok' is rather relative," I tell him. "He is no worse than usual."

"Why is he not ok?" Harry asks.

I scowl lightly,

"He's a werewolf, and he hates that about himself. He also hates that some part of him loves it." I pause, "he only loves it because he probably wouldn't have become such good friends with us if he wasn't a werewolf. He became a different person once he was bitten, not that I knew him before it happened. He didn't become a bad person, like people tend to believe, he just became a more canine person."

"I think that is the most you've ever said to me at one time," Harry smiles weakly.

I grin at the welcome change of subject,

"Nah, when you were a baby I spoke to you for hours on end about Quidditch! I drove Evans up the wall…"

"James…?" Harry pauses.

"Hmm?"

"Do I have any other godparents? I mean, I know there's Sirius, but don't kids normally get three?"

I look over at him, scowling,

"You don't know who the other two are?"

He blinks, looking surprised,

"No."

I shake my head,

"I guess he didn't tell you," I shrug, "Moony is your second godfather, and your godmother was an old friend of Lily's, she's dead now, though."

Harry stares at me in surprise,

"Remus is my godfather?"

"Well, yeah, he and Padfoot were the obvious choice as they were together, and my best friends," I nod.

"Then why didn't Remus…" he looks away embarrassed.

"Adopt you after we died and Padfoot went to Azkaban?" I suggest, he nods slightly, blushing. "Moony is a werewolf, and the law prevents him from adopting human children if he is not living with another human…" I scowl, "he would have been banned from seeing you too."

"He has a really bad deal," Harry sighs. "I had no idea."

"Things are improving for him," I sigh, "but slowly."

I glance up as Evans joins us outside with a cup of tea.

"James," she smiles, "Harry, what has gotten you so depressed looking?"

"I just told Harry who his other godfather is," I tell her.

She nods slowly and joins us,

"Well, it is too nice a day to dwell on that."

I nod,

"Ok, what shall we talk about?"

"Where are we going to live?" she smiles.

"In the country," I answer promptly, "I've always wanted to live in the country, and this place," I gesture to the Burrow, "is great!"

"Near here?" Lily asks.

"No," I tell her, "maybe down in Devon, or the Lake District… Somewhere out of the way so that Moony can have room so run."

"But with Floo access," she warns.

"Well, yeah!" I roll my eyes.

"Will you live with Sirius and Remus then?" Harry asks.

"No, probably not," Evans tells him, "but they will visit a lot."

"There is no way in HELL I am going to share a kitchen with Padfoot again!" I announce loudly.

Harry sniggers,

"The way Sirius tells it, it was mostly your fault."

"Padfoot has a selective memory!" I exclaim.

"Calm down!" Lily scolds me, so I roll my eyes.

"Hey, are you coming to live with us?" I ask my son.

He looks surprised,

"You want me to?"

"Well, yeah, I wouldn't have asked otherwise," I tell him.

He grins,

"Thanks, yeah, I think I will."

"Great!"

Remus' POV

My Mate wanders into the living room and drops down beside me.

"Hey," I smile at him, "did you have fun?"

Sirius nods and wraps his arms around me,

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"No," I grin and lean against him.

"I love you, Moony, more than anything else."

"Even your Firebolt?"

"Yup."

"Even your old bike?"

"Hmmm… yeah, I guess so."

"So comforting that you had to think about it!"

"That was a great bike! I loved that bike!"

"It was terrifying," I shudder. "I was amazed whenever you came home alive."

He rolls his eyes,

"You were one of the team to collect Harry, are you honestly telling me you are still afraid of heights?"

I wince,

"Not heights as much as dangling in mid-air. You know that, Padfoot."

He laughs,

"Sorry."

Author Notes:

Hmm. I know I had told you that chapter 5 was nearly complete, but I deleted it and started again. I think this came out better than the first attempt.

I am sorry that it's short, but I still have no plot. I have spoken to my betas (Cairn87 and Zactana) and they think that I might as well continue without a plot for the moment and just enjoy writing excessive amounts of fluff. If you disagree and have any ideas of a plot feel free to let me know in the normal way.

Umm, yeah, if you spot any mistakes please let me know. Both of my betas admit to not being able to spell… so…. ;)

Thanks for reading, and hopefully it won't take so long to update again!


	6. New Moon

Sirius' POV

"Padfoot?" Prongs sticks his head round the doorway of the lounge.

"Yeah?" I continue to skim read the 'Which Broomstick?' and don't look up.

"I think you better go see Moony, I think he's upset," he tells me.

"What happened?" I get to my feet instantly, dropping the magazine to the floor.

"Me, him and Lily were chatting outside and he just got quieter and quieter," Prongs shrugs lightly. "Then he got up and left without a word. I think he's up in your room."

"Thanks Prongs," I head upstairs.

I enter the room to see Moony perched on the edge of the bed, bowed over slightly with his hands clasped tightly between his knees. I walk over quietly, knowing that I won't make him jump. He already knows that I'm here, I couldn't surprise him if I tried.

"Gee Moony, try to contain your happiness, just watching you is making me tried," I drop down beside my obviously unhappy Mate. "What's wrong, Love?"

He continues to stare at the floor with a slight frown on his face, apparently not noticing me.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" I change tack.

"I hate thinking that soon you will go off to work and I'll end up being a house-husband… or whatever, as we aren't actually married," he sighs.

"Moony… I love you, and I'm sure we'll find you something to do," I tell him.

"I know you think so," he looks up into my eyes.

"Hey, I love you, Moony," I tell him again. "What do you want me to do? Just name it, Love, and it's yours."

"It isn't that easy…" he drops his head to my shoulder.

"Moony…"

"My name is REMUS!" he jumps up suddenly and stalks out of our room.

"Drat…" I mutter. I clearly misjudged that.

I follow him into the corridor in time to see him Disapperate away.

I curse loudly and run downstairs, then realise that was a stupid waste of energy and instead turn my mind to concentrating on finding my Mate.

The Link we have tells me that he is ok, if rather unsettled, but doesn't tell me where he is. I curse and mentally tick off the places he might be,

"School, maybe… but you can't apperate there… the flat, that isn't ours anymore… James', ditto… Peter's, don't think so somehow… a random field in the middle of nowhere, probably…"

"Padfoot?"

I jump violently,

"Prongs! Warn a guy!"

"Sorry," he laughs, "what's going on?"

"Moony Disapperated, and I'm running though all the places he might be."

"Grimmauld?" Harry offers from beside his father.

"Why would he be there?" I raise my eyebrows.

"That's where he lived for the last four years," Harry shrugs.

"He did?" I didn't know that.

"Well, yeah, he couldn't afford anything else," Harry tells me.

"Yes he could," I snap, "my fortune was left to him in my will."

"Oh," Harry says simply.

I curse under my breath and Disapperate.

Remus' POV

I curl up on the sofa in the living room. I hope that this is the last place Sirius will think to look for me. Chances are he will search the length and breadth of the countryside before checking here. After all, he hates it here, and will subconsciously put off looking here.

I can feel that he is upset and worried. I also sense his anger, and know that I have disappointed him.

I didn't mean to pull away from him, but now that I have it is best if I stay out of his way until he calms down.

It isn't his fault, really. He has always been overly optimistic when surrounded by his friends. That part of him died a little, after Azkaban, but is back in full force now. I can't cope with his optimism right now; I need some time to think.

I jump at a loud crack from downstairs. There is silence for a second, then I hear his voice.

"REMUS? Are you here? REMUS, please answer me, Love."

I ignore him and pull my knees tighter to my chest. I hear him come up the stairs and pause next to where his mother's portrait used to hang.

"Redecorated in my absence, I see," he murmurs appreciatively. "REMUS? Come on, I love you, we'll work through this!"

I let out a small sob and I hear him freeze and turn towards the noise,

"Remus?" he steps into the room.

He steps into my line of sight,

"There you are! Why didn't you answer me? Come on," he steps towards me.

I flinch away from his touch and turn my face away.

"Mo… Remus, what did I do? I don't understand," he doesn't move any further forward.

Sirius' POV

He is afraid of me. I can feel it through the Link. I consider making it an order that he talk to me, I am the alpha in our little Pack, so he would have to obey me, but I can't do that to him.

"Remus, I'm not going to hurt you. You must know that?"

He shakes his head and curls up tighter.

"When have I ever hurt you?" I ask softly as I sit on the sofa in front of him.

He sniffs softly,

"Do you want a list?" the first thing he's said to me since I got here.

"Ok," I agree, hoping just to make him open up again so that I can find out what has gone so terribly wrong since this morning.

He pauses for a second,

"When you hit me on the train to Hogwarts," he starts, without looking up at me. "When you laughed when I screamed from my nightmare, when you said you could be friends with _two _of the people in the dorm, when you never apologised, when you ignored me and hexed that kid from Hufflepuff." He swallows loudly and continues, "when you sent Severus after me, when you didn't invite me to come and live with you, when you left me at home alone while you swanned around at work," he starts to cry. "When… when you thought I was the traitor, when you ignored all reason and went after Peter yourself, when you didn't come to see me the instant you escaped, when you left me alone while on the run, when you… when you died…"

I stare at him in surprise,

"I… Is that what this is all about? The number of times I've let you down?"

He shakes his head, still sobbing,

"I was just answering your question."

"Do you not love me?" I ask quietly.

His head jerks up, his eyes wide,

"That isn't the point."

"Ok, what is the point?"

"I'm a werewolf."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," I snap sarcastically, and regret it instantly.

He eyes drop down submissively,

"Sorry," he murmurs.

I groan,

"Remus, I'm sorry, I just get frustrated when I don't understand. I don't want you to go all submissive on me, please just tell me what's wrong."

He bites his lip and glances back up at me,

"It's autumn," he tells me sadly.

"Yes, it is," I agree.

"It's October soon," he drops his head back onto his knees.

A small lightbulb is desperately trying to turn on in my mind. _October, what happened to Moony in October? Oh shit…_ The lightbulb flicks on.

"You were bitten," it comes out as half-gasp, half-moan. "Ah, Remus, I'm so sorry. I forgot, please forgive me?"

"The next moon is my anniversary," he murmurs. "I will have been a werewolf for thirty-six years."

"Remus…"

"It just brought it all back to me, Sirius," he sighs. "All the hurt, all the rejection, all the sleeping in the gutter and being abandoned by those you once counted as friends…"

"I…" I don't know what to say to him.

"You could do better," he stands abruptly. "I'm wasting your time."

I catch his arms before he can vanish on me again,

"No, Remus, no. I love _you _nobody else, _you. _I'm sorry I hurt you before, but I do love you. I'm sorry for a lot of things, Remus, but can't loose you. Please, damn it, _please_ don't leave me."

He throws his arms around my chest and bursts into tears as he holds me as tight as he can.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry…" he repeats over and over again.

I hate the New Moon even more than I hate the Full Moon.

"Shh, not your fault, Love," I hold him tight. "Not your fault. It's the New Moon today, I forgot that too… I'm sorry, I should have been more attentive today. You are safe, Moony; I won't ever let you go. It's ok, now, I love you. Not going anywhere, Love. Shh…"

Later

"What was wrong with him?" Harry asks quietly when I enter the kitchen to get a quick drink before returning to my Mate.

"It's the New Moon today," I tell him.

"I don't understand," Ginny admits.

"He isn't settled yet, so he is nervous. In addition, he is a werewolf whose very existence is tied to the moon. None of the moon can be seen when it's a New Moon," I explain quickly as the kettle boils. "The wolf side is always off-kilter on a New Moon, and as Moony's human side isn't feeling all that great either he basically had a bit of a breakdown. He's ok now."

I hurry back up the stairs before they can ask any more questions, and slip back into bed behind my Mate.

"Sirius?" he murmurs.

"Right here," I wrap my arms around him.

"Sorry for making you worry."

"Not your fault, Moony," I kiss his nape gently. "My fault, I should have realised the date. I'm so sorry."

"I want to move out," he mutters.

"Ok," I agree readily. "Where to?"

"Grimmauld," he shifts onto his back to look at me.

"I… I…" I search wildly for the right words.

"It's my territory," he explains nervously. "I hated it then, but it was still mine. With you back I think we can make it nice again."

"But… but its in London. I thought you wanted to live in the country?"

"The garden is large, once we clear it," he smiles gently. "And whenever we run in the country we always head for the nearest civilisation. We like to explore towns. It might be fun to explore London."

I laugh gently,

"I never thought I would go back there willingly," I admit. "But if that is what you want, and it is where you will be happy."

"We don't have to," he looks nervous again.

"Maybe not," I agree, "but this morning I told you I would give you anything you wanted. That was a promise, Love, and I always try my hardest not to break my promises."

"I love you," he snuggles up against me.

Author Notes:

Heh heh, I felt like adding a dose of angst. I like angst. Anyway, I am still considering my plot options at the moment.

Thank you to **Miss Anonymous hp **for your plot idea, I do like angst, as I said, so I might go with that a little. I dunno, I guess you just have to watch this space! ;)

In answer to your question Harry is an Auror in training, Ron is also training to be an Auror, Ginny is training to be a Healer, Remus is unemployed but sometimes did basic unskilled paperwork/accountancy jobs for Muggles in the past. Sirius is an Auror, James is a Seeker and Lily has a high up position in the Ministry.

****

Altered- James is now a Chaser, thanks to **Miss Anonymous hp!**

Thanks to everyone else who voted for excessive fluff and to all of you who just reviewed to say I was doing ok.

I know there was no Harry-James-Lily stuff in this chapter, or anyone except for Sirius and Remus for that matter, but this fic, and the one before it, were always going to be Remus-centric. I have branched out a little since, but do have a tendency to return to old habits. I'll give the other characters more of a say in the next chapter. Probably.

If anyone spots any mistakes in either of my stories that my betas have missed please let me know.

Thanks again.


	7. New Home

Sirius' POV

I plod slowly into the kitchen and nod in greeting to the others.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Prongs asks. "You look like… like… like something very bad…"

"No, and thanks a lot Prongs," I roll my eyes. "I wanted to keep an eye on Moony. But he's asleep now, so won't wake up again until eight."

"Does the New Moon always affect him like that?" Ron asks.

"Nah, not normally. He gets more sensitive, but the worst time of the month is normally just before and just after the Full Moon."

I down a mug of scolding coffee and pour a second.

"I have some advise for you boys," I gesture to Harry and Ron.

"Oh yeah," Harry laughs.

"Don't laugh," I grin, "I'm your godfather, I can do responsible!"

Prongs snorts with laughter,

"Sure you can, Padfoot."

"Anyway," I continue, putting on a strict no-nonsense voice. "Number 1: If your friend betrays you, do _not_ chase after him, or her, to commit murder and gain your revenge."

"Fair enough," Harry smirks.

I nod,

"And Number 2: Unless you _like_ being in a high maintenance relationship do _not_ fall in love with a werewolf."

"High maintenance huh?" Prongs grins.

"Yup," I gulp down some more coffee.

"I'll bare it in mind," Harry tells me dryly.

"Don't you like being… involved with Remus?" Ron asks.

"I never said that," I look over at him. "I love him, and I love caring for him. There is nothing I would rather do than comfort him when he's scared. I just thought I'd let you know what it's like."

"In other words he's nackered, worried about his boyfriend and hoping that you will find a partner that won't drive you to the emotional edge once a month," Prongs adds for me.

I nod slowly,

"Something like that."

Later

"Morning Moony," he nuzzles closer into my neck.

"Padfoot?"

"You expecting someone else?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone," he stretches against me and mutters happily as he back pops softly.

"You feeling better this morning?"

"Yeah, sorry about that…"

"Don't worry about it," I smile at him gently. "If I didn't think you were worth it I'd never have gotten involved with you in the first place."

"Thank you, I think…" he laughs softly as he tries to engage his tired mind on whither or not that he had just been insulted.

"I love you, Moony," I pull him closer. "Even if you are high maintenance."

"High maintenance?" he sounds amused.

"That's what Prongs said," I muse.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he laughs.

"Never mind," I laugh and pull him up from the bed. "Let's get you some food."

He nods and follows me willingly.

Later, Remus' POV

So I'm high maintenance?

I guess so. Not many lovers live on a monthly emotional roller coaster and turn into a crazy animal that can only be tamed by Animagi and a very complicated potion…

Sirius doesn't seem to mind though. I don't think he has ever failed to react to my pain.

In the very start, of course, he sneered at it. However, most people wouldn't even notice, so that must mean…

"Earth to Moony! This is Prongs calling Moony!" James waves his hand in front of my face.

I blink and look at him,

"Yes, James?"

He rolls his eyes,

"I asked you if you really mean to move back into Grimmauld?"

I look over at Sirius,

"I don't know. Do we?"

"I promised you that we would," he tells me calmly.

"Yes," I agree, "but that was while you were trying to calm me down. I'm currently not an overly emotional lunatic."

He grins,

"You aren't?"

"I think I want a new Mate," I turn away from him. "Prongs; you interested?"

Prongs snorts with laughter and Sirius growls with mock anger.

"I worry about you three," Harry tells us.

"Who us?" Sirius fakes shock.

"Yes, you," Harry smirks.

"Respect your betters boy!" James grins.

"I will when I meet some!" he shoots back.

"We need to get your eyes checked," James tells him.

"Huh?" Harry is baffled.

"You clearly can't see more than a foot in front of your nose!"

"No, I just…"

"Alright! Enough!" Sirius interrupts with a laugh.

"So, are you?" Harry puts the conversation back on track.

"Yeah, why not?" Sirius grins.

"You hated it there!" Ron reminds him.

"I hated being _confined _there," Sirius corrects, "and I hated growing up there. But with Moony with me I think we can make the place half decent for the first time in it's long history."

"Sirius hates being confined anywhere," I add softly.

"Remember the number of times he just left the school? Especially on the weekends…"

I laugh,

"Remember when he just vanished for three days in year four?"

Sirius laughs,

"I just hate staying put for long periods of time… Which is why I'm thinking the sooner we move out the better."

"You're felling confined already?" James laughs.

"Molly's great, but it does feel odd having her treating us all like children… I mean, I'm 40 for heaven's sake!" he laughs.

"It's nice though," I smile. "I think Moony accepts the people here as an extension of the Pack."

"Really?" Ron sounds interested. "What, all of us?"

I shrug,

"Your mother and father certainly, and you and Ginny. Hermione too, I think. He doesn't fully accept the others, but he recognises them as non-threats."

"Moony here classifies everyone into three categories," James adds. "1: Pack members, 2: Non-threats, and 3: Threats."

"You forgot my personal favourite," I offer a crooked smile, "4: Food."

Sirius laughs,

"I can't believe that you have ever looked and someone and thought to yourself, 'Yumm… food!'"

We all laugh.

"Ok," I admit, "maybe not."

"Is it true that Moony won't hurt members of his Pack, even if they're in human form?" Harry asks.

"Only Sirius is completely safe," I shrug gently and look down. "But he won't go out of his way to hurt James, Lily and Harry."

Days later, Sirius' POV

"Never thought I'd come back here willingly!" I laugh and look around the hallway of our new home.

"How did you get my mother off the wall, anyway?"

Moony winces,

"We burnt her off."

I stare at him for a second, then crack up laughing,

"I wish I could have seen that!"

"It wasn't funny, Padfoot," he mutters softly.

"She screamed the entire time?" I ask him, more gently now.

He nods,

"But she was only a portrait, right?"

"Yes, Love. Just a portrait of an evil witch of a woman, who does not deserve your sympathy."

"We don't have much stuff, do we?" he changes the subject.

"No," I grin again. "Just some clothes be bough the day after we came back and your photo albums…"

"We need food…"

"Oooh!" I grin, "let's fill all the cupboards with Muggle food!"

He stares at me,

"Do you even know how to cook Muggle food?"

"No, but you do!"

"I see."

"You like cooking," I remind him.

"Yes, but I also like to decide what I want to buy based on what I want to cook. Not based on my Mate's odd whim to put Muggle stuff in his parents' old house."

"Spoil sport," I pull him into my arms.

"We need to redecorate too," he smiles.

"Really? You don't like the… the… gothic?" I gesture to the house in general.

"No," he grins. "You know the first thing I want gone?"

"The house elf heads?"

He laughs,

"They are quite horrid, but nope. Guess again."

I look around for inspiration,

"The Troll-foot thing?" I gesture to it.

"Nope."

"Is the family tree still up?" I guess again.

"Yes, it is. But that isn't it either."

"I give up, what do you want gone?"

"The single beds in your room…" he leers at me.

I laugh heartily and he joins me,

"Fair enough! We buy our first ever double bed tomorrow."

"Think bigger…" he grins.

"Queen?" I suggest.

"No, bigger…"

"You want a King sized bed?" I'm honestly surprised; Moony isn't normally into telling me how to spend my money.

"Yes," he nods. "To make up for years of singles…"

"We need to clean the place too…" I look around.

"The others will help," he rests his head on my shoulder and sighs happily. "I love you, Sirius."

"I love you, too."

Later

I lay on my back on the three-seater sofa in the lounge. Moony is pressed up beside me, resting his chin on my chest as we talk.

"Do you want to keep my old room, or claim the Master bedroom?" I ask.

He scowls with thought,

"I don't know."

"The Master bedroom has a ensuite…" I tempt him.

"That's your parents' bedroom, Sirius," he sounds bemused. "Do you really want to sleep with me in there?"

"Heck yeah!"

He laughs,

"Ok then, we take that room."

"Good man!" I grin, "Ok, next important decision. Do we, or do we not, tidy the garden ourselves?"

"Ourselves," he replies instantly. "Sirius, the fact is I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands. I'm going to want something to do with it all."

"Maybe we should buy a dog; to keep you company."

"I'm not sure how Moony would respond to that. Or the dog, for that matter."

"Padfoot will have a word with him, and, besides, Moony wouldn't hurt a puppy."

"No," he agrees, "he wouldn't."

"Do you want a puppy, Love?"

"If you don't think it's too expensive…"

"No such thing, Moony."

"We could name it after you!" he sniggers. "Our own little baby!"

"Moony, that is really pathetic!"

"Snuffles!" he giggles again. "Can you imagine yelling that out at the park?"

"Remind me to not let you buy a black dog," I murmur.

"Why?"

"You'll call it Blacky or Orion or something like that…"

"And you called me a spoil sport!"

"Yeah, well, I'm just trying to protect you from yourself!"

"My saviour!" he gushes dramatically.

"Does that make you my damsel in distress?"

"No, no I don't think so somehow," he wrinkles his nose.

"You are just too cute…" I murmur.

He laughs as he blushes,

"Thank you, I think."

"I have to go into the Ministry tomorrow to discuss being reinstated," I remind him. "Will you be ok here on your own?"

He smiles,

"I will. Besides, James is coming over to finish off my wolfsbane tomorrow. I can chat to him and Lily."

"I thought the wolfsbane was at the Burrow?"

"It is. He is bringing it here tomorrow. Besides, the ingredients needed to finish it are here."

"While I'm in London I'll order our bed. With any luck we'll have it by that night." I add.

He laughs softly,

"I can't believe we are finally making a home for ourselves. And here of all places!"

James' POV

"Hey Harry," I drop down beside him.

"Hey," he looks up from his textbook. "What's up?"

"Ah, nothing much. I'm just bored," I shrug casually.

He raises his eyebrows.

"Ok, fine," I give in. "I'm nervous about tryouts tomorrow."

"You'll do fine," he laughs. "Quit worrying."

We sit in silence for a time.

"Weren't you going to see Remus tomorrow?" he asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "That's during the day. My tryout is at six in the evening."

"Won't it be dark by then?" he looks up.

I shrug,

"Yeah, but that isn't a problem."

He gives me a strange look.

"Well, I've caught Quaffles and scored goals in the pitch black before…" I argue.

He shrugs,

"Ok. Fair enough."

Later

"So," Molly smiles round the table at us all. "What are you kids doing tomorrow?"

I resist the urge to laugh and just answer the question,

"Taking the wolfsbane potion to Moony, then going to Quidditch tryouts."

"I'm going back to work," Lily says. "I've been given the Minister of Education job."

"Oh, congratulations!" Molly beams.

"We've got a DADA practical," Ron groans, answering for himself and for Harry.

"Nothing much for me," Ginny shrugs.

"Well, you have fun," Arthur murmurs, not really paying attention as he reads an out-of-date Screw-fix magazine.

The others all wander off after dinner and I manage to convince Lily to take a walk with me.

We walk across the fields at the back of the house.

"I guess we need to move out too," Lily murmurs.

"Hmm," I nod. "Yeah. I do feel that we are rather imposing on them."

"How about we look at houses tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I nod again. "We'll need to rope in Harry to help, if he is still going to live with us."

"He hasn't said that he isn't," Lily confirms.

We walk in silence for a while.

"He turned out rather well, didn't he?" I grin.

Lily laughs loudly,

"Yes, yes he did."

I put my arm round her shoulder as we keep walking and she leans into me a little.

"I love you," I tell her quietly.

"Love you, too," she smiles brightly.

Author notes:

Before you ask, I have no idea where this fic is going now. I swear I just sit by my computer and the thing types itself…

Anyway. Thanks for the reviews, and yeah, I do know the last chapter was rather… odd… like I said I don't know why it came out that way.

Suggestions and spelling corrections are always welcome!

****

Altered- Because I have been told that James is actually a Seeker, I have changed a couple of lines in this chapter to reflect that.

Thanks again.


	8. Level 4

Author Notes:

Hey. Just so you know I have changed a few lines in the last chapter due to the fact I have been told James is a chaser, not a seeker… To be honest I didn't know JK had addressed the issue, and I haven't seen the movies… I just assumed he was a seeker because of the playing with the snitch in book five… But, as a sign of faith, I have altered the story. ;) I'm good like that! Thanks to **Miss Anonymous hp **for telling me.

Not to sound really stupid, but can you give me a page reference for where we are told that? I have read all the books, like, a billion times, but I swear I didn't notice… I am going mad… Thanks

Sirius' POV

Remus is practically clinging to me this morning. I know it is because he subconsciously knows I'll be leaving him for the longest time since we've been back.

I think I'll stay in bed this morning. After all, my Mate is far more important than my Quidditch-style body clock.

"Siri…" he murmurs in his sleep.

I tug him to me a little tighter and he makes a happy purring noise. He is pressed right up against my right side, with one of his legs hooked tightly round mine. His face is under my chin and he is clinging to my T-shirt.

I rub his back gently and stare up ate the ceiling. We are still in my old room; we decided to move when our new bed arrives… So I know, from experience, that there are thirty-nine knots on the ceiling, of which, I have decided, twenty-one are almost perfect circles, fifteen are oval and the others are of a shape I cannot put a name to. I also know that the two halves of the ceiling are subtly glossed in different shades, and that it takes the average spider three hours to cross from one side to the other.

Strange that I remember all that, huh? I guess it comes from the fact I spent too much of my childhood in this room; unwilling to come out, or, in fact, banished up here.

It should bring back loads of bad memories, like it did before. However, with Moony curled up next to me I really don't think I could ever feel unhappy.

"You really have to go?" he murmurs, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, Love," I reach with one hand to pet his hair. "We need money, so I need to get back to work."

"You can go tomorrow," his grip on my shirt tightens.

"No, I have to go today. I have an appointment today."

"I don't want you to…" he falls silent; not needing to finish his sentence.

"I know," I murmur. "If I had my way I would never, ever leave you, Moony. I love you, but I have to go."

I pull away from him gently and get out of bed. He whimpers and shifts to kneel on the bed next to where I am now standing. I kiss his forehead.

"Be good," I tell him, smiling gently.

He glares at me, the affect of which is ruined by the tears in his eyes.

I hug him tightly,

"I love you," I tell him firmly. "I will be back this evening. I promise."

He nods,

"Will you floo me when you get there?"

"No," I tell him sadly. "I don't have my own office, so I cannot floo you. I will see you again this evening."

He bits his lip,

"I do love you. Please come home."

He flushes slightly,

"I'm being really clingy, aren't I?"

I laugh,

"I hadn't noticed." I turn serious, "I love you, Moony. I will see you tonight."

I brush my fingers down his face gently, then hurry to get dressed for work.

Later

"Hey, Padfoot," Prongs greets me as I arrive at the Burrow. "I thought you were going straight home?"

I shrug lightly,

"I needed to talk to you first."

"Did you get the job?" he asks.

"Yeah, of course I did," I roll my eyes.

He laughs,

"Modesty always was your best quality!"

I grin,

"Which rather tells you what the rest are like!"

"So, why are you depriving your Mate and coming here instead?"

"Do you think I should buy Moony a puppy as a surprise, or let him pick one out?" I reply.

Prongs looks surprised,

"A puppy?"

"You know. Cute, fluffy, cuddly animals, generally the babies of dogs… You keep them as pets and take them for walks? Throw balls for them to fetch? Ringing any bells?"

"Ha ha, very funny Padfoot. I do know what a puppy is."

"Well? Moony suggested that he might like to have a dog at home to keep him company. So, do I get one as a surprise, or take him to chose one?"

Prongs shakes his head,

"You really love to dump random problems on me, don't you?" he laughs. "Ok, if you get a puppy I think it should be a surprise. That way he won't have to chance to back out."

"That is true," I nod. "I have to get home. Thanks for that." I gesture randomly with my hand.

"You're welcome."

I scowl,

"Shouldn't you be at tryouts?"

He shrugs,

"Yeah. I have an hour though, and I'm going to Apperate, so I don't need that much time."

I nod in understanding,

"Sure. Good luck."

He nods his thanks.

I wander back to my 'borrowed' Ministry car and head home.

Later, Remus' POV

I'm beginning to think that moving here wasn't the best of ideas.

The work is keeping me busy, true enough, but I am certainly lonely.

I have stopped taking breaks now, because I get too lonely whenever I do. James dropped in for a while, which was nice, but he left after two hours. He was no substitute for my Mate anyway.

I really need to get myself a job or something.

I fell guilty, too, as part of me hopes that Sirius hasn't been given his job back. That way he will have to stay with me.

Gees… I have truly become the stereotypical, overly emotional, submissive, useless partner that stays at home.

I hear the door. My Mate is home.

Sirius' POV

No sooner have I shut the door than Moony has thrown himself at me with a soft whimper.

"Hey, you missed me?" I hug him tightly.

He nods against my chest,

"Lonely without you."

I kiss his forehead,

"Guess what I have?"

"A job?" he looks up into my eyes.

"Yup," I grin. "I've rejoined the daily grind! I have my old position back, and the cubical near the corner."

"That's great," he smiles, though looks rather sad.

"It'll be ok," I reassure him. "I will be able to floo you regularly again, and I'll write you memos."

"The memos only work in the building," he tells me quietly.

"They do until you modify them," I grin. "Don't worry Moony."

He pulls away from me and walks into the lounge.

"I have ordered the bed," I tell him as I follow him.

"That's good," he drops down onto the sofa.

"I know you feel guilty because part of you wishes I hadn't got the job," I tell him as I sit beside him.

He flinches,

"I'm a terrible person, sorry, Sirius."

"Don't be daft," I rub his back. "You think I would be angry because part of you wishes I would never leave? That is about the best compliment I've ever had!"

He chuckles,

"True."

"Don't worry about it, Moony. I love you."

"Hmm…" he sighs and drops his head to my shoulder. "It isn't fair, Sirius. Why do people hate me all the time? I know I'm not the best person…"

"Yes, you are, Moony," I correct quickly. "You are the best person I've ever met."

"…but I'm only truly dangerous once a month," he ignores the interruption.

"I don't know, Love. I agree though, it is very unfair. There are people in the Ministry working to improve things for you."

He nods,

"Yeah, but they can't force people to like me."

"They can make it so that you don't have to tell them."

He nods,

"That might help some people, but if they liked me without knowing that… They wouldn't really know me."

"You won't be on your own all day either."

"True," he sighs again. "But Moony probably won't accept them as his pack. I don't want to work with people who don't know me."

"You would rather stay at home?" I ask, expecting a negative answer.

"Yes," he surprises me. "Yes I would."

Next day

"Black?" my boss yells across the cubicles to me. "You in here?"

"Sir?" I stand up so that he can see me.

"Ah! There you are. I want to talk to you, come along," he strides off down the corridor.

I shrug and start to follow him.

"I bet you're in trouble!" Tonks grins at me.

I glance at her,

"What could possibly have done to irritate him? I've been sitting quietly at my desk since I got in three hours ago!"

"You did send five modified memos to Lupin," she grins.

I nod and continue on my way,

"That's true."

I catch up with him at the end of the hall.

"Keep up!" he grins at me and gestures me into the lift.

"Where are we going?" I ask as he joins me and punches the button for level four.

"I have to talk to you about a rumour I heard, and I think I want to show you something," he tells me.

"Ok," I agree nervously. I know that level four is for the control of magical creatures and my mind skips to Remus.

We step out into the corridor as soon as the lift stops.

"Black," he begins as we walk along, "is it true that you are mated with a werewolf?"

I flinch,

"He has nothing to do with my job here, and don't…"

"Relax, Black, just answer the question," he smiles over at me.

"Yes, ok, yes it is true."

He nods,

"Yes, I thought so. Remus Lupin, isn't it?"

"_He_, Remus is a he, not an it," I snap.

"You are being to defensive," he murmurs. "To say 'it' in that context is just an expression. By 'it' I meant his name."

I nod,

"Sorry, sir."

He waves his hand casually as we keep walking.

"Remus is well?"

I scowl,

"He's fine."

"He stays at home?"

"Yes. Look, sir, what is this about?"

"Do you love him?" he ignores my question.

"Yes. What are you…?"

"Did you love him before he was a werewolf?"

"I didn't ever know him when he wasn't a werewolf," I give up arguing and just answer the question.

"I see," he nods. "Is he happy?"

I stare at him,

"He doesn't like being left alone," I reply after a pause, "but he is happy with me, yes."

He looks strangely pleased,

"Do you know what the Ministry keeps in these cells?" he stops walking abruptly and gestures down a corridor to our right.

"No, I don't," I have a bad feeling about this.

"Werewolf cubs," he tells me, watching me carefully. "Children who have been bitten and then abandoned."

"Why are you telling me this?" my voice sounds weak.

"At the moment there is one child in the cells at the end," he tells me. "The werewolves are strongly sedated before each moon to keep them safe. The sedative is cheaper than wolfsbane and does not need to be specifically prescribed."

"All drugs need a prescription," I murmur.

"Why do you think there is only one?" he replies.

I give him a pained look,

"That's sick."

"Yes," he surprises me, "it is."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I was thinking you might have another question."

"Why does the Ministry keep them?" I ask, worriedly.

"They do not experiment on them, if that is what you are thinking," he replies. "They keep them so that they can say with all honestly that they take care of werewolf cubs, and give them premium food."

I scowl,

"They are in cells!"

"And they are fed premium _dog_ food," he nods.

I feel the blood leave my face.

"The Ministry will also happily give up the children to anyone who will take them," he continues, once again watching me carefully. "Then they can tell the pro-werewolf-rights protestors that they are finding new homes for the cubs."

My mind is working over time. I was thinking of adopting a dog for Moony, not a child. I'm not sure if that is what Remus had in mind when he told me he was lonely.

"You want me to take him… err… her home?" I look down the corridor at the cell door.

"I was thinking you might want to think about it."

We stand in silence for a time.

"How many others have you re-homed?" I ask.

"Fifty-eight."

"How many have died?"

"A lot more."

"How long have they been keeping them here?" I feel sick.

"It was a bill pushed through by Umbridge about six years ago," he replies.

"I hate that b," I tell him.

He nods,

"I imagine your lover does too?"

"Oh yes," I nod. I sigh, "Moony might just kill me for this… What do I have to do to claim… err… him?"

Later

"Alright," I twist round to face the boy beside me in the car. "We're home. Do you remember what Dumbledore told you about the house?"

My boss gave me the rest of the day off after I had claimed the boy, but before coming home I took a trip to Hogwarts so that I would be able to take our new 'cub' into the house.

He nods,

"Invisible house."

"That's right," I agree.

He doesn't seem to be able to speak many words, but he has picked up on 'invisible' somehow.

"Sleep?" he looks nervous.

I shake my head,

"No. No I won't make you sleep if you don't want to."

He smiles happily and holds out his arms. I scoop him up, get out of the car and kick the door closed with my foot.

"Inside is my Mate," I tell the boy. "He's called Remus, or Moony if you prefer."

"Sleep?"

"No, Moony won't make you sleep either. When we get inside I'm going to put you down. I have to speak to Moony, ok?"

He whimpers,

"Stay?"

"I won't leave you," I reassure him. "I just have to speak to Moony for a second, but I won't go out of your sight. Ok?"

He nods.

"Good boy."

I open the door and put the boy down carefully. I hear Moony coming down the stairs to greet me so I go to meet him at the bottom of the stairs.

He throws his arms around me,

"Sirius! What are you doing home?" he grins.

"I have a surprise for you, Love," I tell him almost nervously.

"What is it?" he looks interested, then scowls slightly, "will I like it?"

I laugh,

"I hope so, Moony."

"So it isn't like the earring you got in year five?"

"You like the earring."

He looks at the small gold stud in my left ear. I have taken to wearing it again, as the hole re-open itself when I was brought back. It closed up before when I was in Azkaban.

"It has grown on me," he admits.

"It isn't a piercing, or, actually, anything to do with my body," I reassure him anyway.

He nods,

"Ok, what is it?"

The boy looks up as move back over to him.

"Hey," I smile reassuringly.

"Hurt me?" the young werewolf asks.

"No," I tell him quickly. "Moony… err… Remus wouldn't hurt a fly. Don't worry. Besides, you trust me, don't you?"

He nods quickly and holds his arms out to me.

I pick him up and carry him over to my Mate.

Moony's eyes widen as he spots the boy. I sense the canine side of my lover assessing the situation.

"He's our new cub, Moony," I tell him, simultaneously gently for Remus and firmly for Moony.

He walks over curiously and the boy bears his neck to my Mate.

Moony considers this, then gently kisses the presented neck. The boy squirms happy and Moony takes him into his own arms.

"What's your name?" he asks.

The boy has nuzzled up against him and fallen asleep instantly, so doesn't reply.

"He doesn't have a name," I tell him quietly. "The Ministry don't bother naming abandoned werewolf children. He has been in one of their cells for the past year."

"How did you…?"

"Find him? My boss, who is thoroughly sympathetic to the cause, told me about him. He said that all I had to do was say I'd take him on and the Ministry would be only too happy to give him to me."

"That's horrible," Moony hugs the child closer. "He's only… three?"

"Three and a half," I nod. "Four in April."

"We are going to keep him?" Gees he looks so hopeful.

"Of course we are," I nod. "That is, if you think Moony will accept him?"

"He already does," he smiles. "He did the instant you said he was our cub."

I grin,

"Thank god! I was worried you might hate me."

"We have to name him," Moony rocks the child gently.

"Yeah," I laugh, "we need to do a lot of things, Love."

"We do?"

I shake my head in amusement,

"Food, toys, a bed, education, clothes, medicine, a pet… there are a lot of things to do."

"A pet?"

I laugh,

"Children like pets, Moony. We might need to get a puppy after all."

"Oh," he gets with the programme. "Wolfsbane, we need to get his prescription."

"I already have," I pull a piece of paper from my pocket. "It's a little different from yours, but it shouldn't cause Prongs any problems."

Moony nods happily,

"I never thought we'd have a child."

"I did," I tell him.

"You did?" he looks amused.

"I always thought we'd find some way to adopt. Well, not always, but after seeing you with Harry."

"We need to tell the others too."

"Yeah," I agree, but before I can say anything else there is a knock at the door.

I open it and instantly find myself with an armful of Prongs.

"I made it! I'm on the team!" he whoops and dances around the hall way with me.

I see the child wake up suddenly in Moony's arms. He looks scared.

"That's great Prongs, but please calm down," I grin before I can stop myself.

"Why?" he keeps beaming, then notices the direction of my gaze and turns around. "Oh."

Author Notes:

Well, that was a long chapter… I hope you don't mind that I have performed a cliché and given them the child… I do have a sort-of, I-think-this-will-work type plot; basically about the werewolf cubs.

I am sorry that I thought James was a Seeker, but as I said at the top of the page… Shrug, anyway.

One thing before I go. I haven't got a name for the boy let, so you can make suggestions if you like. Otherwise I will have to find a baby name book and a pin…

Thanks for all the reviews, I am, as always, surprised that you like this stuff so much…


	9. Big Pack and Toy Trains

Remus' POV

Our cub tenses the instant James comes in the room.

I purr softly to reassure him and he presses his head under my chin.

"Oh," James spots him. "I… err… want to tell me what's going on, Padfoot?"

"This is our cub," Padfoot tells him. "I'll tell you all about it in a second."

My Mate walks to us, and runs his fingers through the boy's hair,

"S'ok," he tells the boy. "Prongs… err, I mean James, is a member of your new Pack. He won't hurt you either."

"Prongs," the boy repeats, smiling now.

"Yeah," James moves over as well. "Nice to meet you," he offers a charming grin.

"Big Pack," the boy informs James gravely.

"I guess so," he agrees.

"Moony," Sirius smiles, "why don't you get our cub here something to eat. I'll tell Prongs here what's going on."

"Ok," I agree.

"Food?" the boy looks up at me as I carry him to the kitchen.

"Yes," I smile. "I'm not sure what we have at the moment; I haven't been shopping for a few days."

I place him on one of the benches,

"Ok. Do you like milk?" I root through the fridge to find some. I pour him some into a beaker, then start to make some ham sandwiches.

"White," he informs me.

I glance at him. He is studying the beaker as if he has never seen one before.

"Drink it up," I encourage him.

He scowls slightly, then tries to scoop the milk up with his hand.

"No, no," I move back over to him and he flinches away.

How do you explain how to use a beaker to an illiterate toddler?

"Shh," I reassure him. "You aren't in trouble. Here, watch me."

I demonstrate how to drink from the beaker. He seems to understand so I hand him back the beaker.

He glances at me nervously, then tips the beaker a little. He gets a little down his chin, but most seems to end up in his mouth. He puts to beaker down and looks up at me, smiling nervously.

"Good boy," I praise him as I wipe his chin, "very good."

He beams happily.

James' POV

"Right…" I am not ashamed to admit that this has all come as a bit of a shock.

Padfoot actually looks nervous,

"You're ok with this?" he asks.

"What?" I look at him blankly. "Well, yeah, of course I'm ok with this. It's just a bit of a surprise. Yesterday we were talking puppies, today you have a son!"

He laughs,

"Thanks Prongs. You're a good friend."

"I'm the best," I tell him instantly. "Why did you think I'd…" I pause and gesture randomly.

"It's one thing to accept that me a Moony are together, it's another to accept that we are going to raise a child," he gets a rather far away happy look on his face.

"I should tell Lily," I snap him out of it. "If I wait until I get home I'll have to come all the way back here."

Padfoot laughs easily,

"Sure. Use the fire in the kitchen if you want, and tell here she can tell everyone to come over if they want."

"I will," I grin and head for the door. I pause and turn back to him, "hey, am I meant to congratulate you on becoming a father?" I repeat the words he said to me when Harry was born.

He shakes his head, grinning,

"Nah, you're meant to commiserate with me," he repeats my answer.

I pass Moony and the boy on the way to the kitchen, and pull silly faces at the boy as they walk past. The boy giggles happily and Moony shakes his head in amusement.

I floo the Burrow and my head appears in their kitchen.

"Heeeeeelllllllooooooooo?" I call out.

"James?" Harry appears before me.

"Hullo," I grin. "Can you get Mummy for me?"

He rolls his eyes but does as asked.

They both come back after a minute,

"James?"

"Hello, oh flower of my heart!" I gush.

She just laughs at me,

"What do you want?"

"I come bearing news," I grin. "Padfoot and Moony have adopted an abandoned werewolf cub, and have invited us all over for something to eat."

"A baby!" Lily drops to her knees before me. "Oh! What does he look like? What's his name? Are we going to be Godparents?"

I blink in surprise, what is it about babies…?

"Err… He has short light brown hair and hazel eyes, like Moony. Pale complexion, but not overly unhealthy. He's on the small side; I don't think the Ministry fed him properly. He doesn't have a name right now, so the guys will probably want some help. I have no idea if we are going to be Godparents, but I would imagine so."

"How old is he? Should we buy a present on the way over? Who is invited?" Lily shoots out more questions excitedly.

"He's three-and-a-half; four in April," I tell her. "You can get something small if you like, but be careful not to overwhelm him. Padfoot just said to invite anyone who wants to come."

Harry is now watching his mother carefully, as if debating whether or not she has gone insane.

"Most people are at work," she tells me. "But Molly, Harry, and I will come!"

"Shouldn't you be… doing… something…?" I ask Harry.

"If you mean, 'should I be at training?', then no," he replies. "I don't have to go to most of the classes."

"Fair enough," I grin. "Shall I tell Padfoot to expect three then?"

"Yeah! We'll be there shortly," Lily beams.

I nod then pull my head out of the fire.

Sirius' POV

"Hey," I greet my Mate and our cub. "Did you eat?"

"Sandwich," he tells me. "Ham."

"I see," I nod. "Did you like it?"

"Ham," he nods happily.

"Moony, I've told Prongs he can invite the others over for a bite to eat."

Moony grins,

"That's a good idea. Any idea who will come?"

"Lily, Harry and Molly," Prongs replies as he enters the room. "The others are at work or doing… whatever…"

I laugh,

"That's great."

"Pack?" the boy pipes up.

"Some of them, yes," Moony tells him. "It'll be Prongs' Mate, and their cub, and an older friend of ours. They'll all love you, don't worry."

"Pack," he smiles happily and nuzzles my Mate.

Moony pets him gently.

"Sit down, Moony," I tell him and gesture for him to join me on the sofa.

Prongs pauses for a second, then joins us on the sofa.

The boy sits on Moony's lap for a bit, then crawls over to sit on mine. He watches Prongs carefully, the finally decides to crawl to him instead.

"Hey," Prongs greets him as he slips onto his lap.

Moony snuggles up beside me, watching the boy carefully. I hug him tightly and kiss his temple.

"Prongs," the boy taps Prongs' chest gently.

"Yeah, that's me," Prongs agrees.

"Cub?" he indicates himself.

"I…" Prongs looks over at us questioningly.

"No," I answer for him. "You aren't Cub. You don't have a name just yet, we are still thinking of one."

"No name?"

"You don't have a name yet, no," Moony replies holding out his arm. "But you will do, don't worry. We love you; you're safe."

The boy beams happily and crawls back over to us. He climbs onto my lap and Moony hugs him to us.

I see Prongs grinning,

"Lily is going to love this," he tells me.

I roll my eyes.

Later, Remus' POV

I hear the doorbell. Our cub stiffens and looks up at my Mate questioningly.

"That sound means the others have arrived," Sirius smiles.

"I'll get it," James offers.

"Thanks, man," Sirius nods.

After a minute Lily and Harry come in.

"Hey," Lily smiles as she joins me on the sofa.

"Prongs' Mate?" he looks up at me.

"Yes, this is Lily," I tell him.

"Lily," he repeats and smiles at her.

"Aren't you adorable!" she beams at him.

James and Sirius come in and stand either side of a rather bemused looking Harry.

"Molly couldn't come," Harry tells me. "She had already invited some old friends over. She says that we are all welcome to come to hers tomorrow, or the day after, instead."

"That would be nice," I smile.

"You could go during the day," Sirius offers. "I could join you after work."

"I brought you something," Lily smiles to the boy.

He looks surprised, and looks up at me for reassurance. I smile at him.

She pushes a small box towards him,

"Here you go."

He smiles again,

"Mine?"

"Yes," she grins. "All yours."

I help him open the toy train, then show him how to play with it.

Lily has a very maternal look in her eyes as she watches him playing on the carpet.

I see that Sirius is just about to join him, but Harry beats him to it.

"Cub?" our son asks.

"I'm… Prongs' cub, yeah," Harry looks bemused. "My name's Harry."

"Harry," he repeats then points to the toy. "Train. My train."

"Yes," Harry agrees. "Your train."

I can hear Lily making 'aww'ing noises.

Later

"He's asleep," Sirius reports as he comes back down into the living room.

"Which room did you put him in?" I ask.

"Regulus'" he tells me. "It's a good size, and close to the bathroom."

"That's two floors below ours," I scowl.

"Yeah," he agrees. "But, Moony, not to put too fine a point on it, you're a werewolf. He could sleep at the end of the garden and you'd still hear him if he cried."

I laugh easily,

"True."

"What are you going to call him?" Lily asks.

At precisely the same time Harry asks,

"What are you going to do to the people who treated him like that?"

"We don't know, and I'm not sure there is anything we can do," I notice that my voice gets quieter towards the end of the sentence.

"There must be…" Harry starts.

"The Law just isn't set up that way," I look down.

"Moony…" Sirius murmurs my name as he sits close beside me on the sofa.

"I'll talk to Hermione," Harry tells me. "I'm sure she'll think of something. You can't believe that they should be allowed to do that to… to a child. I mean, his childhood so far has been worse than mine."

Everyone but Harry flinches. I guess we all feel rather guilty about that.

Harry notices,

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You're sorry!" James splutters. "If I had my way…"

"James!" Lily stops that train of thought.

"Sorry, Love," James tells her. "But when I think of that…"

"Shush!" she snaps.

"I agree with you, Harry," Sirius pulls the conversation back on track. "I'm going to look into the feelings of that sort of thing amongst the other Aurors at work tomorrow."

"We'll sort that out later," Lily waves her hand impatiently. "What are we going to call him?"

"_We?_" Sirius and James announce, amused.

"Well," Lily smiles. "We must be the Godparents, so we get input into the name!"

"We didn't get input into Harry's name!" Sirius argues.

"Remus did!" Lily tells him. "We just disregarded everything you said because you weren't being serious."

"There is nothing wrong with Fluffy!" Sirius grins.

"You wanted to call me 'Fluffy'!" Harry objects.

Sirius grins evilly,

"I was going to get the Healer who handled your birth certificate drunk and encourage him to…"

"Sirius!" I shut him up quickly.

James is laughing,

"That…"

"Will you boys stop changing the subject?" Lily moans.

"Sorry Lily," I smile. "Do you have any ideas?"

She beams at me,

"Thank you, Remus. As a mater of fact I do. I was thinking that you could name him after someone we used to know. I think that would be nice."

Sirius wrinkles his nose,

"I'm against naming kids after old friends."

"Why?" she looks slightly offended.

"All our friends have dumb names," he moans, then grins at having wound Lily up.

"Behave!" she laughs despite herself.

"Name him after Snape!" Harry grins. "I know how much you guys love him!"

Sirius and James fall about laughing,

"I haven't seen him since we came back," Sirius admits.

"Me neither," James nods. "We should drop in on him sometime."

"No!" Lily and I object instantly.

"Spoil sport," Sirius pulls me into a one armed hug.

"Well," Lily thinks some more, "your family is into star names, Sirius."

"That just about gives me every reason to give him a name nothing to do with the stars," Sirius replies.

"Whose surname will he take?" James asks suddenly.

Sirius looks at me, and I look at him.

"I don't know," Sirius replies.

"Yours," I tell him, after a second.

"Why?" Sirius asks.

"I like your name more than mine."

"My family hates werewolves."

"So does mine."

There is a long pause.

"I thought you said your parents tried everything to cure you," Harry says quietly.

"They did," I agree. "But when it finally filtered into their heads that I would not be cured… They moved away from me."

James shrugs,

"Black it is then."

"Huh? Why?" Sirius looks up surprised.

"Your family abandoned you because they didn't like your personality. Moony's left him because they were stupid enough to let him get bitten," James replies easily.

Sirius nods,

"Ok."

"Now a first name?" Lily's mind is working overtime.

"It has to go with Black," I state, thinking carefully.

I sense Sirius grin suddenly.

"No Sirius."

"I haven't said anything!"

"Yet! You were going to suggest something stupid."

"You can't know that."

"I'm your Mate. I _know _you."

He laughs,

"I was only going to suggest Romulus!"

I roll my eyes,

"Sirius! Please!"

"Just being helpful…"

"You're doing it again!" Lily complains. "He needs a name now, guys. He feels left out because he doesn't have one."

"Sorry Lily," I apologise again.

"It could mean something…" Sirius ponders.

"Cole!" James grins.

"Cole Black?" Harry looks over at him. "Are you insane?"

"Thank you, Harry," Lily smiles as we snigger quietly.

"Gareth means gentle," I muse aloud. "Darren."

"Well, Darren is ok," Sirius tells me. "Lyall means wolf." He grins again. "Connor is something like lover of dogs!"

"Sirius, this isn't helpful."

"Glen means Valley," Lily has scarily produced a baby name book from somewhere.

"Where'd you get that?" James asks.

"I bought it on the way here, when I bought the train."

"The shop assistant thought we were together…" Harry moans suddenly.

"Mark," Lily opens the book at random. "Amon, Alvin…"

"Amon is fertility," Harry looks over her shoulder, "so don't go with that."

"Blaise…" she continues.

"Blaise Black?" James looks amused.

"Colin?" she looks up.

Sirius shrugs and turns to me,

"Do you want to take my name?"

"Pardon?" I stare at him.

"You heard me. Do you want to change your name to mine?"

"I…"

"Zebedee?"

"No!" James just laughs.

"Ross, Warren…" she pauses. "I like Warren."

James looks at her oddly,

"I can't see these two having a son called Warren."

"Liam? That's nice too…"

"Well, isn't that short for William?" Harry offers.

"Irish form of," Lily agrees.

"Rama," James peers at the book too. "Means black," he smirks and dodges a cousin from Sirius.

"Well?" Sirius nudges me gently.

"Really?" I ask before thinking.

He laughs,

"Moony, you are more than welcome to my name if you want it. I just always thought you didn't want to go for the whole happily married thing…"

"Cheney is from the Oak Forest…" Lily continues oblivious to our conversation.

"No, I don't want to get married," I agree. "We are bonded in a much stronger way, but I guess our son would feel we were more of a family if we have the same name…"

"You want it?" he asks again. "Don't say this if you will hate it."

"Remus Black sounds just fine to me," I smile at him.

He grins,

"Excellent. I'll pick up the paperwork tomorrow?"

I nods happily and lay my head back against his shoulder.

"I like Cheney," I add to the other conversation.

"Really?" Lily beams happily. "Cheney Black, Cheney… yes, it does sound nice."

"I agree with Moony," my Mate chimes in instantly, sensing that this would be a good time to get back into the conversation. Basically before we name our son without him.

"Darrion?" James offers.

"I knew I guy called Devlin…" Sirius adds.

"I like Devlin too," I tell them. "What does it mean?"

"Brave," Lily tells us after a minute.

"Devlin Black…" Harry tries it out for us.

"Does he get a middle name?" James asks.

Sirius laughs,

"At this rate no!"

James sniggers and I swat my Mate on the arm.

"Delvin Cheney Black," Harry lounges back against the sofa.

"Brave of the Oak Forest?" Sirius translates.

"I like it," I smile up at him.

"Excellent!" Sirius grins as he jumps to his feet. "So, who's up for some tea or coffee?"

Later, Sirius' POV

"Devlin… last chance to back out, Love," I offer my Mate.

"I like it," he murmurs.

Shortly after the others had left our new bed arrived. Fortunately we know how to shrink things; so we were able to get the bed up to are new room without waking our son.

"It's really big," Moony murmurs as we snuggle.

"Yeah," I laugh. "So why are we still curled around each other?"

Moony laughs,

"We didn't buy it so that we have more room while sleeping."

"We didn't?" I laugh.

"Nope. We need more room when we're… err… you know."

"Having sex?"

I think I can feel him blush as he nods.

I feel him tense suddenly, then shift to face the door over my chest.

"What is it?"

"Padfoot," I hear Devlin pad into the room. "Cold."

I roll over to look at him,

"Aww, I'm sorry. I should have gotten more blankets."

I had forgotten that werewolves have a tendency to feel the cold, and this old house is probably a lot colder than the Ministry.

He holds his arms out to me and I pull him up onto the bed.

"Do you want to sleep with us tonight?" Moony offers.

Devlin grins widely and nods,

"Warm, Moony."

"Hey," I catch his attention. "We thought up a name for you. Do you want to hear it?"

He nods again.

"Devlin Cheney Black," Moony tells him. "Do you like it?"

He grins and points to himself,

"Devlin?"

"Yes," Moony nods. "You're Devlin."

Moony settles back down against me and beckons Devlin. Soon I find myself being used as a pillow by two werewolves, and find that I really wouldn't wish it another way.

Author Notes:

Wow… long chapter… I guess the story possessed me again…

****

NixiNox- If you have a baby book it is an old method were by you press the pin into the book at random, then open it to the page the pin points to, to choose the name.

****

Kynny- Thanks for your link, and for your name suggestion. I would have loved to use it, but Ben Black has too many B's…

****

Shadow Cat17- Thanks for your suggestions. I'm sorry I didn't use them, maybe next time… ;)

Thanks to all my reviewers. I honestly am always surprised when I get such good feedback… I'm told by my flat mate it's because I have 'Abandoned Child Syndrome', which, apparently, means I find it hard to accept praise… Dunno why I told you that, but hey!

Thanks again.


	10. One Week to Go

Sirius' POV

I think I can get used to waking up like this. Moony is hugged close to my right, and Devlin sprawled across my chest and to my left.

To be honest I'm a little relieved that Devlin can sleep through the night, I did worry that I would have to extract myself from under my Mate to care for him. Not that I'm even sure what that would entail…

I'm going to stop that line of thought before I start doubting my abilities as a father…

I feel Devlin stir and then he yawns widely.

"Good morning, Devlin," I greet him.

He looks up at me and grins widely,

"Padfoot. Devlin warm. Happy."

"That's good," I smile back. "Shh though, Moony's still sleeping."

I watch him consider that for a moment, then he nods and lies back down.

"Moony sleep?"

"Moony likes to sleep," I reply. I look over at the clock; it's nearly six o'clock so I need to get moving.

I lay still for a while longer, but then extract myself gently.

"Padfoot leave?"

"I have to get ready to go to work," I tell him. "It's ok, you can stay here with Moony."

Moony lets out a soft groan and his eyes flicker open,

"Padfoot?"

"Hey, Love. I've gotta get ready to go."

"I love you," he murmurs.

"Love you too," I agree. "Devlin, do you want to stay up here with Moony or grab a bite to eat with me?"

"Food?" he smiles and holds out his arms to me.

"Right-oh," I grin. "Hear that, Moony? We're going down to eat."

His eyes open sleepily,

"Sure. Devlin, when Sirius leaves you come back up here, ok?"

"Padfoot go, Devlin come to Moony," he nods.

"That's right, good boy," I carry him down the stairs.

Just as I reach the hallway I hear a knock on the door. I pause then check the peephole.

"Prongs?" I open the door. "Isn't it a little early for you to be dropping in?"

"Prongs!" Devlin holds out his arms to his godfather.

Prongs steps inside and I hand Devlin to him then close the door.

"Hello, Devlin," Prongs grins. "I'm here to check on the wolfsbane again," he tells me. "I need to separate it into two so that I can adjust it to the two prescriptions."

"Ah, ok sure," I nod. "We were just going to get something to eat, do you want anything?"

"Coffee would be good, thanks," we head off to the kitchen.

I get Prongs' coffee as he shifts some of the wolfsbane into a different cauldron. He then gets out a knife and scratches 'Moony' on one and 'Devlin' on the other.

"Right," he mutters, "let's see."

I leave his coffee on the side and gulp down my own as I fix Devlin a pancake and a beaker of milk.

"White," he smiles gratefully as I hand him his food.

I grin,

"Yeah, that's right. You eat that all up, ok?"

He nods happily.

"Prongs?" I walk to my friend. "You can keep an eye on Devlin while I get dressed, yeah?"

"Sure," he nods. "Just don't let Moony distract you."

I snort quietly and head back upstairs.

Remus' POV

I hear my Mate re-enter the room.

"You didn't eat, did you? Moreover, where's Devlin? You shouldn't leave him down there on his own."

"I had some coffee, and I'll eat when I get into the office," he tells me. "Devlin is with Prongs, who is adjusting the wolfsbane, as you two have to start taking it today."

I sigh gently,

"One week until the Full Moon," I stretch.

"It will probably be the first one Devlin will be conscious for," Sirius murmurs gently as he pulls on a new black robe. "He almost certainly doesn't know what happens to him each month."

"Poor boy," I reply. "He's even younger than I was, and even my parents weren't heartless enough to abandon me."

"You're strangely with-it for this time in the morning," Sirius changes the subject.

I laugh,

"Maybe it is my parental instincts kicking in. I don't feel like I should be sleeping while Devlin is up and about."

"I notice he is calling us Padfoot and Moony, rather than Dad or Sirius and Remus," he grins and sits down beside me.

"He bonded with you first," I smile as he brushes his fingers through my hair, "and he's picked up on what you call me, and what you call yourself. Also, he probably doesn't understand the word Dad."

"True," my Mate murmurs. "You know, Prongs warned me against letting you distract me…"

"I'm distracting am I?"

"In all the best ways…" he grins and leans down for a kiss.

"I love you…" I smile up at him as he pulls back.

"I love you too, but now I have to get going. Prongs will be down there for a while, so you may as well take the opportunity to take a shower before Devlin comes back up here."

I nod,

"Good idea. You have fun at work…" Sirius snorts with laughter, "and I'll see you later at Molly's?"

"Yeah," he grins, "I'll see you there."

Later

"Big," Devlin looks into the garden.

"It will be even bigger once I clear all these weeds," I tell him conversationally. "Why don't you bring your train outside and then play while I make a dent on this… catastrophe posing as a garden."

"Garden. High ceiling," he looks nervous.

It hits me suddenly. He hasn't been out of his cell for over a year, let alone outside the Ministry. He doesn't remember the sky.

"There is no ceiling," I tell him gently. "That's the sky. We're outside now. No walls either."

He considers that,

"Safe?"

"Yes, definitely," I tell him. "The garden is protected along with the house."

"Invisible."

"That's right. Don't worry, me and Padfoot won't let anything happen to you."

Sirius' POV

"So, how's the boy?"

I jump violently and spin round,

"Gees…" I face my boss with my wand in my hand. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous to creep up on Aurors?"

He laughs easily,

"Maybe so."

"Devlin's fine," I tell him as I put my wand back in my belt. "He's with Moony… err, Remus. I'm going to meet up with them at a friends house tonight."

He nods happily,

"I have heard that Potter is making a bit of ruckus over it all."

"James, Lily or Harry?"

"Harry. He's issued a complaint to the Minister."

"The whole family are rather vocal with their disapproval of things," I agree.

"Indeed. Oh, while I remember, this letter arrived for you."

"Oh? Who is it from?"

"Dumbledore, I believe," he shrugs. "Said it was important, but not urgent."

He hands me a letter and wanders off.

I shrug and open the letter.

__

Dear Sirius and Remus Black,

How does he know about that already? I shrug again and keep reading,

__

I hope this letter finds you well.

I hope, also, that Devlin is well. I understand that James is making wolfsbane for you, in preparation for the coming Moon.

I had not heard of what has apparently been happening in the Ministry, rest assured I shall be complaining as well. Know, too, that Devlin has a place in Hogwarts when the time comes.

Give my greetings to the others,

Dumbledore

"Huh," I grunt after reading the letter.

I am about to write a memo to Moony when I am called out to do a little work 'for a change'.

Later

"Remind me to do that again!" I grin as we troop back into HQ.

Tonks laughs easily,

"What, you like irritating the situation into a fire fight?"

I grin at her,

"Most action I've seen in months!"

"Remus will kill you himself if he finds you've been starting fights."

I just laugh and head to my desk to write up my report.

I'm just finishing off when Arthur joins me.

"Arthur, hey," I greet him as I seal up my report.

"Sirius," he nods. "I was just about to leave, are you ready to go?"

I blink in surprise,

"Yeah, sure. How are you getting home?"

"Apperating," he replies. "Oh, yes, don't you have a car?"

I shrug,

"No, they took if back from me. Said I didn't need it. I'm gunna buy another."

He nods and we walk out together.

"I hear Remus is already at the house," he tells me conversationally. "As is your son, Devlin is his name?"

"That's right," I agree as I drop off my report and wave goodbye.

"Is Lily likely to still be here?" he asks as we reach the life.

"Oh, I doubt it," I reply. "She starts early and finishes early."

"I hadn't noticed," he admits as the lift takes us to the lobby.

"She's a quiet girl," I agree.

"Remus is too," he adds, the looks awkward, "quiet, I mean, not a girl…"

I laugh,

"I knew what you meant."

"You know where to Apperate to?"

"Yes," I nod. "See you in a second."

Remus' POV

I watch as Devlin runs round and round in circles in the garden of the Burrow.

"He's so sweet!" Ginny announces.

"I know!" Lily agrees. "I'm getting all maternal just watching him!"

"You could always have another yourself," I tell her before I really think over my sentence.

I feel myself blush,

"Err, sorry. Ignore me."

Lily laughs easily,

"Never, Remus. I was thinking of it, but James and I are a little busy to be thinking of more children, and I don't know what Harry would think of it."

I shrug lightly, then grin,

"I'm am occasionally available for babysitting. My schedule is a little hectic, but I'm sure I'll be able to fit you in between maybe waking up and going to bed."

She laughs,

"You'll regret that when Devlin gets comfortable enough to run havoc around the house."

I laugh too,

"True. I really need to childproof the house before we get to that stage."

She beams,

"I always knew you'd make a great father, Remus."

I fell myself blush again and I look down,

"You are one of a very few number."

We look up as a double cracking sound comes from the front of the house.

After a few seconds Sirius is shown out by Molly.

"Hey," I smile happily. Sirius moves over and wraps me into his arms.

"Have a good day?" he asks.

I nod,

"It's good to have some company."

"Padfoot!" Devlin runs over.

"Hello you!" Sirius scoops him up and spins him round. "Did you have a good day?"

He beams,

"Moony garden. Big sky. Devlin train. Burrow."

"I see," Sirius grins. "Fun then?"

"Fun! Devlin train fun, Moony, Padfoot!"

Sirius laughs at our son's enthusiasm.

"Molly Ginny!" Devlin then tells him. "Owls."

"Really?" Sirius may, or may not, understand a word of what he's being told. I'm not sure.

"Big owls, and little owl. Pig!"

Sirius laughs,

"That's great."

"Lily Ginny clothes. Doggy!" Devlin announces.

"Brilliant," Sirius puts him back down, "I'm happy to hear that."

Devlin runs back into the house and I take the opportunity to explain what Devlin was on about.

"He means that I did some gardening while he played, but I had to explain to him that it was the sky. Then we came here for lunch, actually because we have run out of food that I feel happy messing around with while he is waiting… Once we got here he met Molly and she gave him another train, and showed him the owls." I take a breath, "then Lily and Ginny came back from shopping with some new clothes for him, and Ginny brought him a stuffed toy dog."

"Right," Sirius laughs. "Shouldn't you have been at work, Evans?"

"I took some leave," she grins. "I knew that someone would have to go clothes shopping for you two. Sirius would dress him all in leather, given half a chance," she grins at my Mate. "Remus, you'd be so worried about him that you wouldn't ever get round to buying anything."

"We'll pay you back," I promise.

"You'd better! We spent a fortune!" Lily grins evilly, then glances at Sirius. "And will you please remember that I'm married? You were there, after all…"

"Train doggy!" Devlin runs back out with his new toys to show my Mate.

"Wow!" Sirius humours him instantly and drops to his knees. "What are you going to call the doggy?"

"Name doggy?"

"Everyone likes to have a name," Sirius tells him.

I watch him thinking,

"Name doggy Doggy?"

"I'm sure the doggy would love to be called Doggy," Sirius agrees.

Devlin beams.

Later

I join Sirius outside.

"It's getting dark," I murmur.

"Yes," he sighs softly. "I was just watching the moon."

He gestures to the half moon above us.

"I can feel it. Devlin probably can too, though he won't know what it means."

"Where is he anyway?"

"He's being fussed over by Lily and Ginny," I tell him.

"You look tired," he pulls me into his arms.

"Mmm… I am tired."

"I remember a time when you would never admit weakness to anyone…"

"I was afraid," I nuzzle his shoulder and he kisses my temple.

"Has Devlin worn you out?" he speaks quietly.

I let a small laugh,

"He has a lot of energy. It's not that I'm exhausted from chasing him or anything, he's a good boy. I'm tired because I'm worrying myself silly."

"Do you want me to take some time off until things settle down a bit?" he offers.

"No," I close my eyes. "I just need to realise that looking at the fire doesn't mean Devlin is going to light the thing and kill himself."

Sirius laughs,

"If you're sure."

"I am. Moony just needs to adapt to having a cub to care for." I pull back slightly to grin at him; "Babysitting Harry was nothing next to this!"

"We need to keep an eye on him, though; I think Lily wants to steal him…" Sirius smirks.

"We'll tell her to adopt her own," I smile happily and drop my head back to his chest.

"We need to get home," Sirius leads me inside. "You and Devlin need to take that wolfsbane."

"Yuck," I reply, causing my Mate to snort with amusement.

"Devlin, home time!" he calls.

"Home!" Devlin jumps down from the sofa immediately.

"Remember your toys," Lily hands him the dog and the train.

He grins at her and runs over to us.

"Thanks for dinner, Molly," I thank the host.

"Oh," she beams at me. "Any time! I know what its like to have children running around. If you ever feel you want a break you just come over here."

"You're too kind," I smile.

"Say hi to Prongs, Harry and Ron when they get in," Sirius adds.

"What do you say to Molly?" I ask Devlin.

"Thank you, Molly!" he tells her instantly.

"Oh, you're welcome!" she beams at him.

We wave goodbye and walk to the road.

"Where's the car?" I ask.

"Oh, the Ministry took it back," Sirius replies.

"How are we getting home?"

"Bus?" he shrugs and holds out his wand arm.

Later, Sirius' POV

"Bye Bus!" Devlin waves.

The kid on board waves back, then the bus is gone.

"You need to buy a car," Moony tells me conversationally as he opens the door. I had forgotten that another one of his pet hates is travelling by Knight Bus.

We both jump out of our skin when we come face to face with Prongs.

"Hey," he grins sheepishly.

"Prongs!" Devlin beams then moves past him into the house.

"Hi. Err… what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Just the last check on the wolfsbane," he shrugs as we all step into the living room. "I used your shower, too. I don't like the ones at the club, and the queue always seems to be enormous at the Burrow…"

I shrug,

"Sure, whatever. Is the wolfsbane ready then? Only, they need to take some tonight."

I look over at Moony, who is watching Devlin.

"Yeah, it's ready. I have left the appropriate size goblets next to each cauldron. Make sure Devlin drinks the full dose, no mater how gross it tastes," Prongs adds.

"We will," Moony murmurs.

"Thanks man," I grin at Prongs.

I gesture to the door and we both walk out. I lead him down into the kitchen.

"I just wanted to thank you again, Prongs. It means a lot to Moony and I that you do this for us," I shrug to indicate my uselessness with words.

"Hey, no problem," he grins back. "You guys are my best friends.

"Hey, are we coming here on the Full Moon?" he asks, after a pause.

"Yeah," I nod. "Why not? Lily and Harry can come too, if they want. We probably won't leave the house. Moony will want reassurance that this is home now, and so will Devlin's alter ego."

"You're not going to give him a nickname too, are you?" Prongs grins.

I laugh,

"Dunno. None are forthcoming at the moment, but we'll see."

"I'd better get back," Prongs shrugs. "I'll probably see you tomorrow."

"Yeah sure," I agree. "Oh, heads up, I think Lily wants another kid."

"Really?" he looks bemused. "We don't even have a house…"

"Since when has something small like that stopped your wife?" I point out. "She'll just use it as an excuse to get your arse into gear."

He snorts,

"Thanks for the heads up, anyway."

I laugh and he Apperates away.

After a minute Moony enters the kitchen carrying a sleepy Devlin.

"I think someone's tired," Moony grins. "We need to drink this stuff, then he can go to bed."

"Drink?" Devlin blinks tiredly.

"Yeah," I smile gently. "Sorry, Devlin, but its good for you."

Moony scoops up his own wolfsbane as swallows it with a grimace,

"Urrgh… that is horrible," he informs me. "You'd think I'd get used to it."

I scoop up Devlin's and hand it to him,

"Drink it all up."

He sips a little and then looks up at us pitifully,

"Don't like it."

"I know," I tell him. "But you have to drink it, I'm sorry."

His bottom lip trembles but he does as he's told.

"Hey, good boy," I pull him into my arms.

"It's instead of having to sleep," Moony tells him gently.

"Because I'm a doggy?" he asks.

I look up at Moony, I didn't know Moony had tried to explain it to him.

"Yeah," Moony agrees. "That's why I take it too."

Devlin nods sleepily,

"Bed now, please."

Later

"You failed to mention that you had taught him manners and about being a werewolf," I murmur sit down on the sofa beside my Mate.

He chuckles,

"He picked it up rather quickly, didn't he? Quicker than you at any rate."

I snort with laughter,

"True. I was older though, and it only took a term."

"It would have been quicker if you weren't so…"

"If I wasn't a jerk?" I offer.

"Well, yeah," he laughs again. "I never thought we'd be like this back then."

"Me neither."

We fall silent.

"Did you give him more blankets?" my Mate murmurs as he snuggles up beside me.

I wrap my arms around him,

"Yeah, I did. I also lit the fire, and put up the guard. I left the door open and the landing light on."

"That's good," Moony manages to squirm onto my lap.

"You really like being cuddled, don't you?"

"You bet," Moony grins.

"I agree with Lily," I tell him.

"Hmm?"

"You are most positively the cutest guy in the _entire _Universe!"

He laughs, and looks up at me,

"Why, thank you!"

Author Notes:

Hmm… another long chapter, once again written on a whim when I really should be doing other things… Heh heh, never mind!

I know I have Remus think _'He hasn't been out of his cell for over a year' _and that Sirius had him in the car and outside before they got home. I'm assuming that Devlin would be a bit to shocked and distracted to really acknowledge the outside world at the time, so the time in the garden is the first time he really notices the sky and so on…

Anyway:

Thanks to everyone who declared that Devlin is a cute name, I will pass on the thanks to the reader who suggested it!

****

Miss Anonymous hp: Lol, I have an unusual name, so maybe that's why I chose Black instead of Lupin… Cheney is French, so I am _assuming _it is pronounced Chen-ay, as is Chin, but with an 'e', and then 'a' as is '**a **dog'. ;) To be honest, I'm not sure, but that's how I'm saying it!

****

AffectedMangoO: It is possible, but I haven't heard of it! I am working to keep up the Sirius-Remus fluff; you'll have to tell me if I start to falter… :)

Thanks again to everyone, and I'll try to update again soon!


	11. Reporters and Fires

Sirius' POV

"I'll see you tonight," I tell my Mate.

"Check on Devlin before you leave," Moony murmurs.

"I will," I promise. "I love you, Moony."

"Love you too," he snuggles back under the covers.

I walk out of the bedroom shaking my head gently. I peek into Devlin's room to find out if he is awake yet. He is, and now he's just lying in bed watching me.

"Hey, Devlin," I smile.

"Padfoot," he smiles.

"You don't have to stay in bed in the morning if you don't want to," I tell him. "You can play with your toys."

"Not bad?" he looks surprised.

I shake my head,

"If you don't go to bed at all, that's naughty, but if you wake up and you aren't tired anymore you can get up and play."

He beams happily and scrambles out of bed. He pads over to the two wooden trains and the stuffed dog.

"Thank you," he tells me.

"Just be careful not to break anything, hurt yourself or wake Moony," I tell him.

He beams and nods.

"Devlin quiet," he whispers.

"Good boy," I kiss his forehead. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye-bye Padfoot," he smiles.

I Apperate off to work.

Later, Remus' POV

I must have fallen asleep after Sirius left, because it is now 9 o'clock and I am feeling distinctly guilty.

I look into Devlin's room and find him playing quietly with his trains. The stuffed dog from Ginny seems to be having a ride.

I walk in and he looks up. He smiles happily, which relieves my guilt a little. I flick my wand to open the curtains.

"Hey," I smile at him. "Have you eaten this morning?"

He shakes his head,

"No. Padfoot tell Devlin can play with toys."

"Yes," I agree. "It's good that you play."

He grins,

"Hungry, please?"

"Certainly," I smile, "let's go get something."

I walk out into the landing and wait for him to join me. He follows me happily and we walk down to the kitchen together.

"Were you warm enough last night?" I ask as I pour him a beaker of milk.

"Yes," he takes the beaker, "thank you."

As I'm making us some porridge I hear someone call me from the fireplace.

"Remus?" I turn to find Lily looking up at me.

"Hey, Lily," I smile at her and drop down to her level.

"I just thought I'd let you know that the reporters have found out where we live and work," she jumps straight to the point. "We knew they would sooner or later, and it just seems that it is sooner rather than later."

She sighs,

"I guess you haven't seen the paper this morning?"

"We don't get a paper," I admit.

"There is an old picture of the four Marauders taking up about half of the front cover," she tells me. "There are smaller pictures of all of us dotted around the article, which spans about four pages…"

"I'm guessing they have dragged out just about everything there is to know about us…" I sigh. "Like, for example, me being a werewolf?"

"And Sirius' gay lover," Lily nods. "Yeah. Actually, they are quite nice about it. They don't go off on one at all. They actually praise you for your work during the war."

"Did Harry have a word?" I smile.

She laughs,

"Probably."

"Do they know about Grimmauld and Devlin?"

"No and Yes," she smiles weakly. "They are guessing that you and Sirius are staying in the 'Black Family Home', but they don't know anymore than that it's in London. They do mention Devlin though, but again, they go on about him being, and I quote, 'a poor abandoned child', so that isn't too bad either. About the only bad thing about the article is that now everyone is crowding around the Burrow, the Ministry and James' club for interviews"

"Lily?" Devlin joins me by the fire.

"Hey Sweetie!" she beams.

He reaches out to her and I pull him back quickly,

"No, Devlin. That would hurt."

Lily smiles,

"I'll talk to you later, Remus."

"Yeah, bye Lily," her head vanishes.

"Hurt?" Devlin looks up at me.

"Yeah," I hug him close. "You have to be careful near the fire, do you understand?"

"Fire hurt," he nods.

"That's right," I give him a kiss then stand to check on our breakfast.

Sirius' POV

"What part of NO do you people not understand!" I yell at the reporters. "Get out of the way before I hex you!"

"Yeah sure…" one of them starts to say, but then I pull out my wand.

Mostly they still just keep yelling questions at me, but a few of them back off warily.

I mutter a spell under my breath and the reporters closest to me drop like stones. The others back away from me, watching my wand.

"Thank you," I tell them, and get onto the lift before they can stop me again.

I practically run off of the lift and into the Auror HQ, where I promptly throw myself behind the screen and to my desk.

"Hexing reporters, Black?" my boss wanders over.

"Yeah, well," I mutter.

"I have sent a team to clear them from the lobby and make sure they don't return," he adds, then walks off again.

I wonder if he does that to everyone, or if it's just me? I shake my head and get back to work.

Later

"Home sweet home," I grin to myself.

"Hey," Moony joins me in the hall. "Have a good day?"

"Nah, not really," I admit as I wrap my arms around him. "Reporters kept ambushing me whenever I went to the records office."

He leans into me, sighing happily,

"Yeah, Lily told me they were at the Burrow too, and at James' club."

"It was bound to be leaked sooner or later," I let my hands stray down his back. I scowl slightly, "where's Devlin?"

"He's in the living room playing with his trains," Moony replies. "He probably didn't hear you come in."

"Padfoot!" Devlin bounces over from the living room.

"He has now," I grin. "Hey, Devlin."

He walks over a little nervously, as I am still holding Moony close. I stoop down to pick him up and he beams again.

"Do you want a drink?" Moony asks.

"I'd kill for a coffee," I reply instantly, "but don't worry about it. You go sit down; I'll get the drinks."

He smiles sweetly,

"Thanks, Siri."

Remus' POV

My Mate puts our cub back down, then goes to the kitchen.

I wonder if he knows I only call him Siri when he has just done something to make me fall in love with him all over again?

I know it isn't a big thing, but the fact he doesn't expect me to wait on him when he gets home makes me feel better. I feel less like a househusband and more like an equal in our relationship.

I follow Devlin back into the living room and curl up on the sofa. Devlin scoops up Doggy and brings him over to me.

"Doggy say hi Moony," he tells me.

"Hello, Doggy," I reply and scoop them 'both' onto my lap. "So, Doggy, do you like it here?"

The toy dog's head nods,

"Yes," Devlin tells me. "Doggy likes playing on trains."

"I'm glad," I smile and stroke the head of the toy. I notice that Devlin's sentences are becoming more full.

Sirius walks into the room, while levitating the three drinks,

"Tea for Moony," he gives me mine. "Milk for Devlin, and coffee for me…"

He drops onto the sofa on the other side of Devlin,

"I'm shattered."

I smile over at him,

"Happy to be home, then?"

He laughs,

"Gees, Moony, I'm _always _happy to be home!"

"Nice home," Devlin agrees.

Devlin wanders off to play on the floor again, so Padfoot shifts closer to me,

"I think Lily wants another kid," he murmurs.

"Of course she does," I reply as I rest against his shoulder. "She always did want two."

"Does she want to have another, or adopt?" he asks.

I laugh,

"How would I know? She doesn't tell me that sort of thing. Ginny probably knows, if you really want to know."

He just smiles,

"I was just thinking about that place in the Ministry. Do you think more kids will come in after the next Full Moon?"

I wince,

"Probably. Some werewolves get spiteful after being treated… the way we are. They let themselves loose over the Moon on purpose."

"Hmm…" Sirius pulls me into a tighter hug.

We sit in silence for a while, then Devlin tells us he is going to get his other train from his room. He runs off up the stairs.

"You do like having him?" my Mate asks very quietly.

I look up at him,

"Are you jealous?"

He laughs,

"Maybe a little, but he doesn't get to do this…" he catches my mouth in a powerful kiss.

I moan happily as we break apart,

"I love having him," I snuggle back against him. "Moony… Moony didn't understand when Prongs and Lily had Harry, but we had no cub…"

"I don't understand," he admits.

"In wolf packs… only the alpha pair normally have cubs. If another pair do, then it would normally be at the same time as the alphas'… In our Pack we are the alpha pair so Moony thought we should, you know, have a cub…" I explain.

"I see," he murmurs. "So if Lily has another, Moony will want to keep up?"

I laugh,

"Maybe, well, probably. But we can't plan our futures around what my alter-ego wants, Sirius."

"We can if you and Moony happen to be in agreement," he replies, with a soft laugh.

"I'll let you know if Moony starts to get broody then, shall I?"

Sirius lets out a snort of laughter,

"Yeah, you do that."

I hear a soft cry from upstairs and jump up quickly. Sirius follows me as we head upstairs.

I find Devlin holding his hand tightly against his chest with tears running down his face.

"Aww, Wolfcub, shh…" I drop down beside him. "What happened? Did you touch the fire?"

He nods unhappily and backs away from me.

"Hey, I can make it better," I tell him. "Come here."

He hesitates, then walks into my arms. I hug him tightly, then get out my wand. I mutter the spell and his hand heals over.

"Hurt," he sniffs.

"I know," I murmur. "That's why I told you not to."

"Sorry," he tries to pull away.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for," Padfoot joins me on his knees. "You got hurt, that isn't really your fault. You just didn't understand. It's ok, you know now."

I feel him relax against me,

"Not in trouble?" he murmurs.

"No, of course not," I reply. "Let's go back down stairs, ok?"

Later, Sirius' POV

"He's asleep," I report as I join my Mate on the sofa.

"Do you want another?" Moony looks over at me, guardedly.

I hesitate,

"I don't know," I reply honestly. "I love Devlin, but I'm not the one who has to look after him all day."

Moony smiles suddenly. I know it makes him pleased whenever I acknowledge that his day is different to mine, but not necessarily easier.

"Why?" I ask. "Does Moony also believe that wolves should have a large litter of cubs?"

He laughs,

"No, I was just wondering. I don't want another right now. I just thought you might… I don't know, I'm just rambling."

"I love you when you ramble!" I grin as he blushes. I pull him against me again, "What's with _Wolfcub _anyway?"

He laughs,

"I don't know. I guess… I mean, I think of him as our cub. I don't… think, 'oh there's our _son'_, he is our _cub_. I guess it comes from that. That and I don't want you to give him something terribly… I don't know, like you do with names."

I laugh,

"Hey, I thought up Moony! You can't complain about that!"

"You also thought up Wormtail, and if that isn't a rubbish name I don't know what is," he counters easily.

"Yeah, well, Wormtail deserved it," I tell him.

"You didn't know that at the time," he closes his eyes.

"Moony did," I rest my head against his. "Remember how he would never let him close?"

He nods against my chest but doesn't say anything.

"Hey, are you ok?" I nudge him. "It's a little early for you to be sleeping…"

"I'm comfy…" he replies. "And feeling guilty over the various things that have come up over the day…"

"Oh?"

"I didn't get Devlin his breakfast until after nine, I let him burn himself on the stupid fire and now I should have listen to Moony when he didn't trust Peter."

"Please don't go on a guilt trip, Love," I murmur. "I love you, none of that stuff was your fault. Any of us could have picked up on Moony's behaviour, you can't take all the blame."

"I guess," he replies. "I love you too," he adds.

James' POV

"They've all gone," I report as I rejoin my family.

"What did you do to them?" Lily looks at me suspiciously.

"Where is the trust in this relationship?" I object. "I gave them what they wanted."

"An interview?" Harry glances up from his magazine.

"Yeah," I shrug. "Wasn't hard really, and I let them take some photos."

"What did they want to know?" Lily asks.

"Just how we came back, where Padfoot and Moony are holed up, what I think of the Ministry abusing small children…" I shrug. "You know, the normal."

Lily nods,

"And you actually managed to pacify them?"

I laugh,

"I transformed into Prongs for the pictures and now they are scurrying back to be the first paper out with the story."

Lily laughs,

"You make a very cute stag. Almost makes me want to try it myself."

"Moony would like that," I reply as I pull her over to snuggle.

"What do you think I would be?" she asks.

"A frog," I tell her instantly, then regret it as she jabs me in the ribs.

"Seriously, what do you think I would be?"

"Probably something that eats deer," I tell her.

She laughs,

"But you're so edible!"

"Your son is sitting right here!" Harry objects. "I don't want to know about… that stuff…"

I just laugh,

"Ok, seriously, I can imagine you as… definitely a predator… Maybe a big cat?"

"Tiger Lily," Harry laughs suddenly.

Lily groans as I laugh as well,

"Yeah! You'd be a tiger, Evans."

She shakes her head,

"Fine. Will you teach me?"

"To be an animagus? I'm hardly an expert!"

"You were fifteen!" she exclaims.

"I've been learning," Harry adds.

We both stare at him,

"You have?" Lily asks after a long pause.

"Well, yeah," he looks a little embarrassed. "I rather fancied the idea since year three, but during the tri-wizard I thought about it more. When I started training to be an Auror I thought I'd give it a go. I need to be able to conceal myself anyway."

I laugh,

"Do me a favour? Don't tell Moony. Let it be a surprise!"

Harry nods,

"Sure. I was going to anyway."

I shake my head,

"I wonder what you'll be…"

"Well, everyone keeps telling me how much like you I am, so logically I'll be a stag too."

"You're nothing like James!" Lily exclaims.

We both give her identically bemused looks.

"Well, ok, you are remarkably similar," she concedes, "but you are different. You didn't go through a phase of hexing people, did you Harry?"

He shrugs,

"True."

"Also, you have my temper. James isn't as fiery as we are," she continues. "Though you do have an affinity for rule breaking…"

We both snort with laughter.

"Harry's more like Sirius then," I groan suddenly. "I'll never live it down if you're a dog like him…"

Lily laughs,

"Yes, me an Sirius we always amazed at how lucky we were that Harry looks like he could be yours!"

I groan,

"Lily, please?"

She snuggles up against me,

"Sorry," she's still giggling.

Harry just shakes his head in amusement,

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Goodnight," Lily calls after him.

We sit in silence for a while and I think over what Padfoot told me yesterday.

"What's wrong?" Lily asks.

"Wrong?"

"You went all tense," she replies.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something Sirius told me."

"Oh? What did the mutt say?"

I snort with laughter,

"He said you were getting all broody after watching Devlin."

She laughs,

"I admit nothing!"

I laugh,

"Yeah, ok, but hypothetically?"

"You mean, _if _we had a house, and _if _you promised to do your share of the nappies?"

"Yeah," I grin, "something like that."

"Then yes, I would love another child," she relaxes back against my chest.

"I have been looking at houses," I tell her. "There's a nice one in the Peak District."

"Sounds promising," she smiles. "Tell me in the morning."

Sirius' POV

"He's still sleeping," Moony tells me as he slips into bed beside me.

"That's good," I smile.

He snuggles up beside me as usual,

"Love you."

"Love you, too," I kiss his forehead and run my fingers throw his hair.

He starts to purr happily.

"I remember the first time you did that," I murmur.

"Hmm?" he asks quietly, mid-purr.

"The first time you purred," I reiterate. "It was autumn of year two, the very first time I went out to you after the Moon."

"I remember," he nods, then continues purring.

I don't cease the movements as I talk,

"You had told me not to come, but, being me, I did anyway. You were happy to see me."

"You were the first person to ever comfort me so soon after the Moon," he tells me. "Everyone else left it a few hours…"

"Everyone else was stupid," I cut him off. "You were at your most vulnerable then, and they just left you…"

"Shh…" he murmurs. "Please don't get upset."

"Sorry…" I sigh. "I love you, Moony."

"Hmmm…" he nods in agreement, then starts purring again.

Author Notes:

Heh, new chapter! Uni. clearly isn't giving me enough work to do… Maybe I should get another job… Hmm? Sorry? You want notes on the story? Well, I suppose so…

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Miss Anonymous hp- Wolfcub! As requested! Thank you, though, I really couldn't think anything up myself… I'm all named out from suggesting baby names to my cousin…

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Volleypickle16- Hey, thank you! As you can see, they aren't yet, but will be!

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AffectedMangoO- I am happy that you are happy!

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed. It keeps me happy.

PS. I will now have to think up what animals Lily and Harry will be… I can probably do it myself, but it will take longer! Hint hint… Sniggers evilly.

Thanks again!


	12. Remus Black and Photographs

Lily's POV

"Aww! Devlin! What are you doing here?" Ginny walks over to me where I sit watching my godson play in the garden.

"Padfoot and Moony change name to Black," he tells her happily. "Devlin stay with Lily."

"That's great," she smiles at him happily.

He wanders off after Crookshanks, and Ginny takes the opportunity to question me further,

"Why did they both have to go?"

"Remus is a werewolf, so there are rules intact to stop him from just changing his name as relatively easily as we can. Sirius has to confirm that he is happy with it," I explain softly. "It would normally take longer than it is, but Sirius kicked up a fuss."

She laughs,

"What makes me think he does that a lot?"

I grin too,

"Sirius likes getting his way, and he certainly doesn't like anyone threatening, or upsetting his Mate. They went today because it's the weekend, so I can baby-sit."

She grins,

"If we leave with him now we'll have a good head start!"

I laugh loudly,

"True, but when they did catch up with us, they'd kill us."

"Lily," Devlin walks back over and shows me what he has found.

"Hey, that's a ladybird," I tell him. "See the pretty spots?"

"Spotty," he beams. "Devlin like ladybird."

"I'm sure she loves you too," Ginny tells him, which makes his smile widen.

"You have to put her back soon, though," I tell him. "She doesn't have any food to eat on your hand."

"Back on bush," Devlin confirms. "Like caterpilly at home."

"You mean caterpillar," I smile.

He nods happily and carries the creature away.

I chat to Ginny about nothing in particular for a while, but the conversation eventually winds itself round to children.

"He's so sweet," she tells me. "Sirius and Remus are really lucky."

I nod,

"It is nice to have a child around," I smile sadly. "We missed a lot with Harry."

She nods,

"Yeah. He missed out, too."

"Just as soon as we move out I think I'll pester James for another," I laugh.

"I'm not sure he'd object," she sniggers.

"He might," I disagree, but with a grin. "I think I want to adopt this time. We did the nappy thing with Harry; it was fun, but I think I can live without it."

She nods slowly,

"I'd rather have a baby."

I shrug lightly,

"I like babies, but I think I might prefer Devlin's age, or a little older."

"Would you adopt a werewolf?" she asks.

I pause and look over at her,

"A werewolf?"

She blushes slightly,

"Well, where Devlin was. They haven't shut the place down, or changed the law. After the Full Moon in two days there may well be more children there again."

"How many children could possibly be bitten over one Moon? Let alone abandoned…" I shake my head in disbelief.

"The Ministry takes them from across the UK," Ginny tells me. "I snuck a look at the records when I was there the other day. Last Moon four children arrived."

"Four!" I splutter.

She nods sadly,

"The joined Devlin, who was the only survivor from previous Moons."

"What happened to them?" I ask, dreading her answer.

"They were killed," tears escape to run down her checks. "The Ministry 'tested which dose of tranquilliser' to use on them, and they over-dosed…"

"Oh god…" I pull her to me.

"I copied the papers and sent them to the press," she adds through her sniffles.

I nod,

"Gees… ok, do me a favour?"

"Yes?" she murmurs.

"Don't tell Remus. I'll let Sirius know, if he doesn't know already, and he can break it to Moony," I tell her.

She nods,

"You all look out for each other, don't you?"

"Always," I hug her tightly.

Sirius' POV

"Finally official!" I grin at my Mate. "You're all mine!"

He laughs easily,

"Stop gloating!"

"Never," I grin back as I wrap my arms around him. "I love you so much! There is no way I will ever stop feeling lucky to have you."

He shakes his head in amusement,

"I love you, too."

"Now, Remus Black," I tug him close to me as I walk down the corridor with my arm across his shoulder. "I think we had better get home?"

He nods, smiling wider suddenly,

"Yeah, we need to get back to Devlin."

"Hey, no!" I chide him.

He looks at me, confused.

"You can't give him a nickname, and then just not use it!" I object. "You call him Wolfcub unless he's being naughty."

He laughs,

"Fair enough," he agrees. "Though he would have to be exceeding bad for you to consider it naughty!"

I laugh loudly,

"True!"

We step on to the lift to go down to the lobby. We don't have the lift to ourselves, so we stay quiet. We step out into the lobby, and into pure pandemonium.

"Sirius Black!" yell various reporters. "Mr Black is it true that…?"

I have my wand out before I even have time to truly acknowledge what is happening,

"Don't you dare!" Moony snaps from beside me.

"You have a better suggestion?" I mutter, but then just point my wand at the ceiling and let off an exploding noise. The lobby falls silent.

"Ok," I flash my award-winning I'm-gay-and-in-a-relationship-but-don't-you-girls-just-love-me-anyway? smile. "One at a time."

Later

"That went well," I admit grudgingly as we climb onto the Knight Bus.

Moony just laughs at me,

"You loved it!"

I grin,

"It's kinda good to know I still have it!" I wink at him.

He rolls his eyes but smiles,

"You're too charismatic for your own good."

We take seats at the back so that it is easier to stay upright. We are part way through our journey when a little girl, (miraculously managing to stay vertical), comes at stands before us.

"Hey," Remus greets her kindly.

"You're Sirius and Remus," she smiles nervously. "Can I have your photograph, please?"

"Pardon?" Moony splutters.

I laugh at him, then turn back to her,

"We didn't really do anything impressive, honey."

"You helped beat You-Know-Who!" she exclaims; though she can hardly be old enough to remember him. "And you escaped from Azkaban!" she continues, "and you came back from the dead!"

When you put it like that…

"Oh yeah," I murmur. "Umm, I guess so."

We smile as she takes her photo and she goes away.

"That has to be the strangest…" Moony murmurs.

I laugh,

"I know what you mean. I don't think I've ever given a photograph before."

"You mean, other than to the reporters and to your fan-girls back at Hogwarts?" he raises an eyebrow.

I laugh,

"That was a crazed rumour spread by Prongs and Wormtail! I swear it's not true!"

He laughs then rests back against me,

"Those were good times."

I nod,

"We had fun, but I think this is just as fun."

He looks up at me,

"True. Except that I _really _don't like this bus."

"I'll buy you a car," I agree.

He looks away, embarrassed.

"Moony… don't even think of going on a guilt trip…"

"You do too much for me," he shakes his head.

I laugh,

"Yeah, well. We do need a car, Love. The fact you are living with me does not really effect how much I buy."

"Sirius, don't be ridiculous," he rolls his eyes. "You buy at least twice as much stuff as you would if it was just you."

I shrug lightly,

"But I would be miserable."

Later, Remus' POV

I think I have upset Padfoot. He has gone rather quiet, and is chewing his lip.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly as we get off the bus at the Burrow.

"Nothing," he mutters, then heads straight to James and Lily's room.

I scowl, then join the others in the garden.

"Moony!" Devlin runs over.

"Hey there, Devlin!" I scoop him into my arms, choosing to concentrate on other things for now.

Lily and Ginny come over as well.

"You chose a good day for it," Lily smiles. "The sun has been out."

I grin,

"It's been a pretty good day all round."

She looks fidgety, then suddenly gives up and throws her arms around my neck,

"I'm sooo happy for you!"

I laugh easily and hug her back with my free arm,

"Thank you!"

"Where's Sirius?" she asks.

"I think he went looking for James," I tell her, shifting Devlin a little in my arms.

I sense him exit the house.

"Ah," I smile, "here he is."

He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. His head is level with Devlin's.

"Padfoot," Devlin smiles then gestures that he wants to get down. He runs off after Crookshanks, who has the sense to jump onto a nearby fence.

"So," Sirius kisses my neck, "how is my blushing bride?"

Lily and Ginny laugh easily and I can tell Sirius is grinning.

I roll my eyes, but to feel my face heat up,

"Why do you get to be the groom?"

"I'm taller than you," he replies instantly. "Also, I can dance better."

"That means you get to lead," I lean back against him. "It doesn't mean anything more."

He just laughs and hugs me closer. I let myself wonder why his mood has so instantly changed, but I will have to ask him later.

James' POV

I walk out into the garden and stand beside Padfoot as he cuddles Moony.

"Hey," Moony smiles happily in greeting. I am struck by how blissful he looks right now.

"Hey," I grin back, "congratulations and all that."

He snorts with laughter,

"Thanks Prongs."

"The Marauders," Lily laughs, "together again!"

"Not quite," I shrug. "Wormtail isn't here."

"He forfeited his membership," Padfoot replies.

I scowl,

"Maybe, but he was our friend."

"What do you mean, maybe!?" Padfoot stands up straighter and glares at me.

"Sirius…" Moony murmurs.

"I liked him at school, and I don't think he was always evil. In fact I think he was never truly bad!" I reply, heatedly.

"What? James, he killed you and Lily and nearly Harry! He is the reason Harry grew up with the Dursleys, the reason I ended up in Azkaban and why Moony lived in poverty!"

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," I growl back. "He was never as strong or as brave as we were, Sirius. We can't judge him to the same standards."

"He betrayed us! He gave you up to Voldemort!"

I see Moony shake his head and walk away with a small smile on his face.

"He was our friend! It's my choice if I choose to forgive him!"

"You… How can you?" he looks revolted.

"I remember him how he was at school!"

"Moony didn't like him!" he snaps. "He was evil even then."

"Moony snapped at him once or twice in the very beginning to establish his dominance!" I reply heatedly. "He knew he had to be submissive to us, and didn't want such a small member of the Pack getting any ideas!" I roll my eyes, "You have got such a selective memory!"

He looks really angry now,

"Yeah, well. Maybe because I spent 12 years going insane in that hellhole! Did it occur to you that maybe you had the better deal? Nobody can hurt you when you're dead!"

The garden falls silent. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel rather shocked.

"I…" I don't know what to say.

He looks conflicted. Like he doesn't think he meant to say that, but really can't take it back either.

Moony just rolls his eyes,

"Guys, stop acting like overly hormonal teenagers. If nothing else you're upsetting Devlin."

Sirius and I both pivot to face the young boy.

"Ah, Devlin…" Padfoot murmurs, but doesn't move as he sees the tears in his son's eyes.

Moony comforts the boy on his own,

"Shh… don't worry. They do this all the time."

I glance at Padfoot guiltily and our eyes lock.

"Prongs… look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

I shrug lightly,

"Hey, no, it's ok. You don't have to forgive him if you don't want to. You're right, I haven't had twenty years to dwell on the fact I was betrayed."

He grins suddenly,

"So, how about we fight to decide which it should be?"

"Didn't we just… Oh! You mean _fight!"_ I laugh. "We haven't done that for years!"

He grins,

"You chicken?"

I grin back,

"No, I'm a stag, you daft mutt!"

With that we both transform and play fight it out.

Later, Remus' POV

I worry about those two, I really do. They have possibly the largest fight they have ever had, then smooth it all over within a minute.

To be honest I am rather relieved that James thinks that Moony did like Wormtail. I felt intensely guilt ridden when I thought I might have been able to prevent what happened.

We have moved inside now, as it is getting cold. I have curled myself up into the armchair near the door. Sirius is lying with his legs over the arm of the sofa, and his head on James' lap. Lily is sitting beside her husband, and is playing with my Mate's longish hair. Devlin is playing with some old Quidditch toys of Ron's, and Harry and Ron are chatting on the other sofa. Molly has brought a chair in from the dinning room and is chatting to Lily.

I watch over my Pack happily. I know now that Moony does accept them all. He would be far more protective of Devlin if he didn't.

Devlin, or should I be calling him Wolfcub now? Anyway, he's coming over to me now and he looks tired.

"Moony," he climbs up onto my arms. "Wolfsbane and bedtime, please."

I nod,

"Yes, I agree." I look up at my Mate, "Padfoot? Stop flirting with James, it's time to go home."

He laughs easily, and shoots James an exaggerated wink before joining me.

Everyone gets up to see us off.

"Now, boys," Molly leads us to the kitchen. "You take the fire home, you hear? It's too late to be taking Devlin on the bus."

"You're sure?" I reply. "I mean, we don't want to use up your floo powder…"

"We have plenty," she brushes off my objection. "If you are really bothered Sirius can Apperate, can't you, Honey?"

I see Sirius fighting a laugh,

"Certainly, Molly."

She nods,

"Now, you get going and enjoy the rest of your weekend!"

"Thank you, Molly," I smile, then take some of the powder and shift Devlin in my arms. "Grimmauld Place," I state clearly.

I step into the kitchen and put Devlin down. I brush the small amount of soot off of our clothes and look up as Sirius Apperates into the room.

"Tired," Devlin holds his arms out to my Mate.

Sirius picks him up as I fetch the wolfsbane. We both take some, then Sirius takes Devlin up to bed.

He rejoins me quarter of an hour later in the living room.

"You and James really need to learn not to fight in front of others," I chastise him.

He laughs,

"Fighting is who we are. It's not our fault that other people don't know that we reach a climatic point, then just make up like nothing happened."

I laugh,

"I know."

"Will Moony mind having others around over the Moon?" he asks after several minutes of silent cuddling.

"You mean, because of Dev… I mean, Wolfcub?"

"Yeah," he agrees, with a slight grin.

"He will want them there," I snuggle up closer to my Mate. "Wolfcub needs to be introduced to the Pack. That's the way it works. Moony thinks he won't be accepted unless he is introduced at the earliest opportunity."

"So it helped that we invited the others over on the day Wolfcub came home?"

"Definitely," I nod.

We sit is silence for a while, then I remember that something was bothering my Mate earlier.

"I just worry about you," he tells me suddenly.

"Pardon?" I look at him in surprise.

He grins,

"You were about to ask me what was bothering me earlier. I felt you tense a little and you scowled in that absent way you have when you're thinking."

I laugh,

"Ok, but why did you act all quiet and decidedly un-Padfootish?"

"Un-Padfootish?" he laughs.

I shrug a little and gesture for him to answer the question.

"I worry myself silly about you over the Moon," he admits quietly. "Now I have two of you to worry about."

"Things will be better for Devlin," I comfort him. "His transformations will all be with wolfsbane from a young age, he won't end up with the scars I have."

He nods,

"He seems to have the public on his side, too."

I nod,

"Public opinion of werewolves is changing."

"The thing is…" he pauses, "after the Moon I comfort you. I have done when ever possible for years. Now we have Wolfcub… He's going to be scared, Moony. I don't know where my loyalties should lie."

"Look after him," I reply instantly. "He's younger and needs it more. I can cope on my own."

"You shouldn't have to," Padfoot sighs. "You're my Mate; I should be with you."

"He's our cub," I tell him firmly, "he comes first."

We sit in silence for an hour or so, each thinking things over as we cuddle.

"Mmm…" I stretch slightly and yawn.

"Bedtime, huh?" Padfoot sounds amused.

"Mmm," I nod against his chest, then move to stand up.

"Hey, no," he pulls me back to him. "This is as close as I am ever going to get to being married, and we didn't come through the front door, so I have to make do with the bedroom."

"What?" I stare at him, "Padfoot?"

He grins and I realise what is going on; I struggle to stand up, but he is too fast. The next thing I know Sirius has my in his arms and is carrying me up the stairs. I wrap my arms around his neck tightly, and pull myself to be more at his level.

"Sirius, Merlin help me, if you drop me!" I hiss at him to avoid waking our cub.

He laughs softly,

"I carry you this way after every Moon, I don't drop you then, what makes you think I will now?"

I laugh against him as I hid my face, which rather quickly turns into giggling.

"I love you," he smirks as we enter the bedroom.

I smile up at him happily,

"I love you, too."

Author Notes:

Hmm, I am perfectly aware that this story isn't going anywhere fast, but that's just how it's working out… The story is still vaguely doing what I want it to do, which is good I suppose!

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NixiNox- Lol, I think I will do that, actually! If just so that I can write James irritated and Sirius laughing at him!

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ano- I won't, don't worry. Harry has been at it in his spare-time since he started Auror training, (so, as he started when he was, say, 18, and is 20 now, that's two years or so), but he still doesn't have it yet. Lily hasn't done anything towards it, so won't be transforming anytime soon, I'm not sure how long I'll make it take, but not this Moon, that's for sure!

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Miss Anonymous hp- You are welcome! I agree; I imagine James as a kind of chestnut brown. I think I may make Lily a leopard, so she'll be yellow and black… but that isn't just yet. I'm still not sure about Harry.

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Crescomellonnin- Thank you! Lol, am I detecting that a lot of people want me to make Harry a dog to irritate James? Anyway, thanks for the suggestions!

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Conn JS1- It's nice when people notice the subtleties behind the writing, so thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy!

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Martino- I have already e-mailed you with my views, but I will add some again here for the benefit of people who read the review and not the e-mail… I am sorry if you feel I have been unfair to Wormtail, but this is a first person non-Marauder-era fic, so some of the views put across are in role, and are not my own. The characters in the story are _not_ gods, and do not remember everything perfectly. If they speak about things pointing to Wormtail not being trustworthy at school it is because they are reading into things. The style of the story means I cannot correct them during the story, so I leave it to you to make your own conclusions. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to review, even if you are against what I have written. I acknowledge your right to your opinion, even though I do not agree with it myself, I hope you acknowledge my right to my own.

Thank you to every one else who reviewed! I hope to write again over the weekend, if I'm not on overtime, but hey! Watch this space! ;) The next chapter may be the Full Moon, at least that is what it is at the moment, but that my change if I have some productive daydreaming time between now and continuing to write!

As always, suggestions and corrections are welcome!

Thanks again.


	13. Parks and SelfDoubts

Sirius' POV

I walk with Prongs as we introduce Wolfcub to the Park. He is currently walking between Moony and Lily, and holding both their hands.

"Big!" he announces happily.

I hear Moony laugh, but I don't catch his reply. Prongs bumps me with his shoulder.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" I turn to him.

He laughs,

"I was just saying that Devlin seems a lot more sure of himself now."

I grin,

"Yeah. Moony's taught him that he's safe. It probably helps that Moony is a werewolf too. I'm sure Wolfcub could sense it the minute I got him home, even if he didn't understand intellectually right away."

"Wolfcub?" Prongs looks amused. "That's his nickname?"

I nod, and laugh a little,

"Moony thought it up, though, not me."

He laughs,

"Well, we all have nicknames now!"

I give him an odd look,

"Lily and Harry don't," I remind him.

"They can't transform yet," he shrugs. "But all the transforming members of the Pack have nicknames."

"_Yet_?" I query.

He blushes slightly,

"Don't tell Moony, we want it to be a surprise."

"They're Animagi?" I lower my voice.

He shakes his head,

"Not yet. Harry's been at it for two years, apparently, and he might get it soon with my help. Lily would like to, but she hasn't even started to learn."

I nod,

"Moony will like it if they manage it, so will Wolfcub."

He grins,

"The only thing is that I am sure Lily is going to end up as something that eats deer… and I will never live it down if Harry winds up as a dog…"

I snort with laughter.

"Don't laugh," he groans. "Part of me just knows it's going to happen."

I laugh harder and Moony turns to look at us.

"What's so funny back there?" he calls.

"Don't worry," I grin. "You wouldn't find it funny anyway."

He nods, then turns his attention back to our cub and to Evans. Wolfcub spots the swings up ahead of us, and Moony starts to explain about them. They enter the fenced off area to play, and I lounge near the entrance with Prongs.

"They do have nicknames, actually," Prongs adds.

"They do?"

"Yeah," he smirks, "Evans and The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Not sure they'll appreciate those," I laugh.

Prongs grins and shrugs.

"When does the Moon rise tomorrow, anyway?" he asks.

"About six," I tell him. "What time will you come over?"

"Training finishes at four," he tells me. "But if I get away early I can be at your place by four-fifteen."

I roll my eyes,

"You can't start irritating your coach this early in the season, Prongs."

He glances at me,

"Hey, I'm a member of this Pack too, you know, I should be with you."

I nod slowly,

"Thanks, Prongs."

"It's fine, Padfoot. It's the least I can do. I know what you go through each Moon; I saw it at school. You're my best friend, so anyway that I can help you I will."

I nod,

"You're a good friend, thank you."

"They'll be ok," he tells me quietly. "Moony is made of strong stuff, you _know _that, and Dev… Wolfcub is too. He survived in the Ministry for a lot longer than most of those kids."

I nod,

"Yeah, Lily briefed me on the statistics."

"Did you tell Moony?" he asks, concerned.

"No, not yet," I sigh. "I might do, but when we have the Moon safely behind us for another month."

He nods in understanding,

"You are a lot stronger than me," he rests his hand on my shoulder. "I don't think I could cope with the worry you go through every month."

"I'd hardy call what I do 'coping'," I sigh.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" Prongs asks, after a long pause. "You're taking this harder than usual. Is it because of Wolfcub?"

I sigh,

"Wolfcub…"

"What about him?"

"He'll be scared," I reply, looking him in the eyes. "After the Moon he'll be scared; he won't have understood what happened."

"So you'll comfort him," Prongs looks confused.

"Yes, I should," I nod. "I'm his father, but what about Moony? Should I just let my Mate suffer while I care for my son?"

Prongs nods,

"I see what you mean."

Remus' POV

I watch my Mate chatting to James. He looks upset about something, and now James looks troubled too.

I think it is probably to do with the Moon, so I don't go and ask what is wrong. I can feel the affects already; I'm a little more submissive and less sure of myself. I think Wolfcub is going through similar; I notice he keeps checking that Sirius and I are close.

He checks for Sirius more often than he checks for me. I could think that it is just because I'm standing closer to him. However, I rather feel it is because he understands that Sirius is our alpha.

I notice Sirius shake his head suddenly, as if to clear it, then he jumps the fence and comes to stand by my side.

"Hey," I smile.

"Having fun?" he grins back, almost completely hiding the fact something is troubling him.

"I think he likes it here," I nod, deciding to allow his act to slip past me. "I may come here with him more often while the weather is still nice."

Sirius nods,

"Will you be teaching him, too?" he asks. "We haven't spoken about that yet."

I shrug,

"I can do, if you think that's best."

"That's what I'm asking you," he replies gently.

I flinch,

"Sorry."

"Don't be," he puts an arm round my shoulder, "you've done nothing wrong."

I nod,

"Can we discuss this after the Moon?"

He nods,

"Certainly, no worries."

Later

Lily carries Wolfcub as we return to Grimmauld. James walks beside her and Sirius and I bring up the rear.

"You're ok?" Sirius asks gently.

My head jerks up from watch the pavement to look over at him,

"Yes," I say quickly, aware even as I speak that I am doing a good impression of a deer in headlights. "Sorry."

He shakes his head,

"Moony, I'm not angry with you. You know I love you."

I nod,

"I'm ok, Padfoot," I tell him. "I can feel that I'm becoming more submissive though, you know how it is…"

I shot glances at him, looking for reassurance that I know I shouldn't need.

"I love you," he smiles at me, "it will be ok."

I smile back, his assurance granting me temporary relief from my worries,

"I'm glad you're here. I love you, too."

We approach the house and find Ron and Harry sitting together on the doorstep.

"Hullo, what do we have here?" James grins.

"Just thought we'd drop in," Harry grins. "Nobody home, though, so we thought we'd sit here and wait."

"Harry!" Wolfcub squirms until Lily lets him down to run to Harry.

"Hey, Devlin," Harry grins. "You remember Ron?"

"Ron," he nods.

"Have you noticed he has dropped back to one word sentences today?" Padfoot murmurs as we enter the house.

I nod,

"I had noticed."

"Hey, Harry! Come and help your poor old godfather make the drinks while everyone else grabs a seat," Sirius requests with a grin.

Harry laughs, but does follow my Mate to the kitchen.

Sirius' POV

"I've hear though the grapevine that you're going to become an Animagus," I tell Harry as we enter the kitchen, out of hearing range of a certain werewolf.

He looks amused,

"I could have sworn James was going to keep it a secret…"

I laugh,

"I don't count when it comes to secrets James is keeping; he tells me everything."

He grins back,

"I should have guessed really, you are the Marauders, after all."

I laugh,

"You got that right!" I look at him for a second, then shake my head with amusement.

"What?" he laughs, "What did I do?"

"I'm a year old than you," I smile, "but I remember babysitting you. I guess I hadn't thought about it quite like that before."

"You and Moony looked after me a lot?" he asks.

I nod,

"We were two of the few Lily actually trusting with her precious baby boy!"

We get the drinks in silence for a few minutes, then I turn to him again,

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You understand what will probably happen if you join the Pack?"

He looks confused,

"No. What will happen?"

"Moony sees you as the cub of another member of the Pack, but he will still want to assert his dominance and make sure you know your place… He will probably give you a hard time at first, until he is sure you accept that."

"But its Remus…" he looks confused.

I shake my head,

"No, it isn't. Moony is never exactly the same as Remus, no mater what anyone says. Remus is always a little canine, but at the Full Moon he is fully canine. He isn't human at that time and doesn't think the same way as he does for the rest of the Moon-cycle."

"I always thought the wolfsbane made him keep his human mind during the Moon," he replies.

"No," I shrug, "he's still a wolf. He's just cured of the bloodlust an untreated werewolf has."

Harry nods,

"I get it. Are you saying you think I shouldn't join?"

I laugh,

"Not at all! You would make my Mate very happy if you joined us. I was just warning you."

He smiles,

"Thanks."

Remus' POV

I watch as Wolfcub plays with Ron, but find myself aching for my Mate. Before long he comes in with the drinks, though, then joins me on the sofa.

"You ok with Ron being here?" he murmurs quietly in my ear as the others talk amongst themselves.

"I trust him," I reply as I curl up as close to him as possible. He holds me close and rubs my back comfortingly.

"Why do you think Wolfcub isn't as… clingy is you are?" he asks.

"He doesn't know what's coming," I reply softly, "and he doesn't realise how lucky he is."

"I'm not going to leave you if you stop hugging me," he replies. "I'm in for life, Moony. I won't leave you, I don't want to."

I nod,

"I know that, but I also love to have you hugging me," I nuzzle him gently. "I will always be grateful that you guys accepted me, you especially."

"You're more than welcome," he smiles.

"Padfoot!" James calls, "did you read the paper this morning? It has the write up of what you and Moony spoke about yesterday."

"We don't get the paper," my Mate tells him. "How was it?"

"It was great reading!" James sniggers. "I really like the quote of you saying 'Of course I love him, you moron, you think I am weak enough to be forced into something I don't like?'"

Sirius laughs,

"Did they actually print that?"

"Yeah," James grins. "It seems _somebody _told them that they couldn't play around with quotes anymore, so they had to use everything they were given…"

We all look at Harry.

Harry just shrugs and laughs,

"I didn't think they'd take me that seriously…"

"You defeated Voldemort," I murmur, "what are a few reporters next to that?"

"What are you saying?" James fakes a look of shock; "I'd take Voldemort over a reporter any day!"

"Reporters are the ultimate evil," Sirius agrees.

I roll my eyes.

"Reporters evil?" Wolfcub looks up innocently.

"Yes!" Sirius nods vigorously. "You must always be careful around reporters."

"Sirius!" Lily and I object instantly. "You'll confuse him!"

Wolfcub giggles at us,

"Padfoot in trouble!"

Sirius lets out a bark of a laugh,

"Mmm, I'm in the dog-house…"

I look at him,

"I'll forgive you if you pass me my tea," I gesture to it on the table beside him.

He grins,

"Your wish is my command, oh wise and wonderful Moony!"

Later, Sirius' POV

Moony has given Wolfcub his wolfsbane, and has taken him to bed. I stand in the hallway seeing the others off.

I wave goodbye to Lily, Harry and Ron and they Disapperate away. Prongs stays long enough to clap me on the shoulder and offer me an encouraging smile, then follows them.

I walk up the stairs to join my Mate.

I enter the bedroom to find my Mate buried under the sheets with only his eyes peering out at me from the depths. I smile and kneel by the bed so we are eye to eye.

"Hello, Moony," I greet him quietly.

"Hello, Padfoot," he replies.

"You're cold?"

The cover moves so assume he is nodding.

"Shall I join you?" I ask. I like to check when he is in this mood; he gets jittery sometimes and is afraid I will hurt him, at such times I transform and sleep at the end of the bed.

The cover moves again, and I'm pretty sure it was the same movement as before. I lift the cover a little and slide in with him. He cuddles up to my chest before I have even settled.

"I love you," I tell him.

"Mmm," he nods happily.

I thank Merlin that this normally only happens once a month.

Next Day

Tonight is the Full Moon. I'm at home all day, as I have taken the two days off that surround it to be with my family.

I sigh softly as I watch my Mate becoming more agitated as the day progresses. Our cub doesn't seem to be affected as badly and just seems to seek more reassurance than is usual.

I can see his shoulders are tense, so I wrap my arms around him,

"Moony, relax."

"Hmm…" he leans back against me. "Sorry."

"Moony's worrying the others won't accept our cub?" I murmur, knowing that Moony's mindset is more powerful near the Moon.

"I think so," he agrees quietly.

"Anything I can do?"

"Hold me?" he murmurs, then turns to snuggle into my hold.

I rub his back reassuringly.

"I love you," I tell him as I guide him to the sofa. He curls up against me, as he always likes to, and lets out a small sigh of contentment.

I know a lot of people would get a kick out of the power I have over my Mate, but controlling him that way would make me ill. It is ironic; my family dictates that members of the Black family must always seek power in their relationships. I have much more power over my Mate than my father ever had over my mother.

"I'm still not happy with what we spoke about before," I kiss the pulse point on his neck.

"Sorry…" he apologises quickly.

"Don't be," I tell him.

"I love you, Moony," I continue, "it isn't right for me to leave you to look after our son."

He doesn't reply; his submissive side has almost complete control now.

I sigh,

"I've lost you haven't I?" I hug him tighter. He doesn't reply other than to clutch at my robes a little tighter.

The doorbell rings, and I gently extract myself.

Prongs smiles at me as I open the door,

"Hey, Padfoot."

"Prongs," I gesture for him to enter.

"How are they?" he asks quietly.

"Moony's submissive and Wolfcub's nervous," I admit.

He nods,

"Is Moony still talking or has it gone all the way?"

"All the way," I reply with a sigh. "He says the occasional word, but, yeah, he's silent."

"I had hoped he was out of that," Prongs sighs. "Last Moon was fine."

I nod,

"This is his anniversary though, that probably doesn't help. Add to that the fact Moony is worried about introducing our cub…"

"Padfoot, breathe…" Prongs grips my shoulders.

I bite my lip,

"What have I gotten myself into?" to my surprise I feel tears slipping down my face.

All credit to Prongs who doesn't even hesitate before pulling me into a hug.

"Hey, shh…" he murmurs. "Sirius, it's ok…"

I press my face against his neck,

"I'm not ready for this responsibility, James."

"Don't be ridiculous," he replies. "You're more ready than I was. You had the maturity to commit to Remus back in year 5. I only got that far with Evans in year 7…"

"It's hard," I admit, but pull back from him.

He nods,

"Yes, but you'll get through it. You always do." He watches me, "look, if it's really bugging you I can look after Wolfcub after the Moon…?"

I shake my head, pulling myself together,

"No, I'm the alpha, I'll do it. I figure I have two arms for a reason."

"You sure?" he rests his hand on my shoulder.

I nod, then notice the clock,

"You're early, it's only 12 o'clock."

He smiles, seeing straight through my change of subject,

"The coach saw I was distracted and when I told him why he said I could get away early to come here. I thought you might like a little moral support."

I blanch,

"I've left him alone…"

I find Moony exactly where I left him on the sofa. He smiles as I rejoin him, and curls back around me. James paused, then sits on the other side of my Mate, and close enough so that his shoulder touches Moony's back. I hear a happy purr and shot Prongs a grateful look.

"So," Prongs murmurs. "What shall we talk about?"

Later, James' POV

I get sandwiches for Wolfcub and myself, but not for Padfoot and Moony; who will apparently get something later.

"Why Moony sad?" Wolfcub asks as he watches me spread the jam.

"He isn't sad, not really," I reply as I put the jar away. "Moony didn't have it too good when he was young, he's worried that Padfoot will leave him because of what he is."

"Will he?"

__

Stupid Prongs; now you've got Devlin worried too.

"No, certainly not. Padfoot would never leave Moony," I tell him.

"Moony not know?"

"He does know, but he likes a bit of reassurance every now and again."

I watch him mule that over,

"People not like doggies?"

__

Stupid stupid stupid… I don't know what Padfoot and Moony have told him… Ah well, here goes.

"No, some people don't," I admit.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. So does Padfoot, Lily, Harry, Ron, Molly and the others you met with us."

He nods,

"I like you too."

I fight the urge to laugh,

"Thank you."

I hand him the sandwich and join at the table as I pick at my own.

I hate to see the strain Moony's transformations have on my friend. He tries so very hard to hide it, but sometimes… It worries me. At some point Padfoot may crack under the pressure, and I don't know what will happen if he does.

It's times like these that my own guilt hits me. I'm sure that the twelve years he spent in Azkaban didn't help matters. There are so many ways that we could have done things differently… Hindsight is 20/20, but that isn't much comfort.

I rest my head into my hands. I'm not used to having to worry about Padfoot. Moony, yeah, everyone who knows Moony worries about him. Lily and Harry, sure, they're my family and my mind is still in the War mindset. Peter, yeah, I worried about him too, he didn't have the talent we had so, yeah. But Padfoot, he is my equal, my partner in crime. I shouldn't have to worry about him.

I shake my head and force myself to eat the rest of the sandwich. Wolfcub finishes his lunch rather quickly, then sits at the table fidgeting. I tell him he can get down if he's finished and he beams happily and takes his plate to the sink before running off.

I stand in the doorway to the living room for a moment and watch as Padfoot murmurs soft comforts to his Mate. Moony seems to be listening, but doesn't reply.

I remember the first time Moony went silent on us before the Moony; it was back in year 6. It was autumn then too. Moony had to have two days off school because he wouldn't respond to any questions in class. Padfoot, of course, promptly took it upon himself to bunk off too. Surprisingly he never did get into any trouble over that.

I smile as I walk into the room.

"Where's Wolfcub?" Padfoot asks.

Moony's head jerks up from Padfoot's chest,

"Cub?"

"Hey, it's ok," I drop down beside them. "He went to play in his room."

Moony stares at the doorway for a bit, then gets to his feet.

"Moony?" Padfoot calls him as he exits the room.

He turns around.

"He's safe, Moony. He's still in our territory."

Moony nods, but still heads off upstairs.

"Are you going to follow him?" I ask, after a pause.

"No," he sighs. "He'll be back shortly, and he needs to realise for himself that I'm right on this."

"This is hard for you," I murmur.

"You have no idea," he replies. "You haven't ever seen him when he's afraid of me."

I watch him carefully, he looks tired and worried, but not particularly stressed or biter.

"You still love him?" it's the first time I've actually come out and asked him if he regrets his decision in year 5.

He looks pained and my eyes widen,

"You don't?"

His head jerks back to face me,

"I'll always love him. I just don't like it when he's like this…"

I nod,

"I know what you mean. The wolf is more like him than this is."

He nods,

"I love the wolf. Well, Padfoot does… to avoid any treacherous mental images…"

I laugh easily and he grins back.

Later, Sirius' POV

It's now five thirty and we're all sitting around the living room. Lily, Harry and Prongs and taken one sofa, and Moony, Wolfcub and I are on the other. Luckily Moony has snapped out of the totally silent submissive version of himself.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble," Moony murmurs.

"I love you," I reply instantly, "it isn't any trouble."

He smiles and rests his head back against my shoulder.

"Professor!" Prongs holds up his hand like he's in class.

"Yes?" Moony smiles over at him.

"Not to be picky, but where are we going tonight?" he asks. "Only, my antlers make doorways quite… well, you know."

I start to snigger, which sets Moony off giggling.

"It wasn't funny!" Prongs objects.

Moony manages to stop giggling,

"It was amusing though. Even Moony thought so."

Prongs sighs,

"Well, I suppose it was rather silly," he grins.

"Anyway," Harry interrupts, "James has a point. Mum and I won't be able to keep up if you run, and James will be uncomfortable in the house."

"The garden is large," I muse. "That should do to start."

"Can we relocate then?" Prongs encourages.

I nod and get to my feet. Moony winces as he gets up, so I scoop him into my arms. Then I remember Wolfcub.

"Umm, Wolfcub…" I try to work out a way of carrying them both.

Moony almost makes me overbalance when he suddenly reaches down to Wolfcub and pulls him up to rest on his lap.

"You don't weigh enough if I can do this so easily," I tell them as we head outside.

Remus' POV

I just smile at my Mate as he complains. Once on the patio he lets us down, though I promptly curl back against him as he joins us on the floor.

James, Lily and Harry sit down close to us, and Wolfcub crawls over to curl up in Harry's arms.

"You don't have to stay if you have…" I start to say, but Sirius covers my mouth with his hand.

"We're going to pretend we didn't hear you say anything," he tells me.

I roll my eyes, but I can feel my smile is wider.

"How long?" Wolfcub whispers.

Harry checks his watch,

"A few minutes. Not very long, basically."

"We should get undressed," I mutter.

Sirius shrugs,

"Don't bother, you have plenty of other clothes." He pauses, "how much _did _you spend, Evans?"

She laughs,

"Some of it was as a gift, but you paid me back for 1200 Galleons."

I stare at her,

"We did?"

"I took it from your account," Prongs shrugs. "I still have your spare key in mine."

We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Only three minutes to go," I murmur, smiling gently at our cub.

"Hmm," Harry nods. "Oh, Remus? I have something to tell you."

I look at him,

"Yes, Harry?"

"James has just taught me to be an Animagus," he tells me offhandedly.

I stare at him,

"What?" it comes out in a hushed whisper.

"I thought you might like it if I kept you company, so I've been learning since I started my training," he grins.

"Two years?" I almost stutter. "You never said…"

He laughs,

"Don't you like surprises?"

"Did you…?" I turn to my Mate.

"No," he's grinning widely.

I feel my face slipping into a grin,

"Thank you, Harry," I manage to say.

"You're welcome," he grins.

"You took less time than these two," Lily comments.

"I think I probably had more spare time," he admits. "After the War with Voldemort there wasn't a lot left for me to learn."

"One minute," Prongs mutters, shooting me a sorry smile at having to ground us.

I nod,

"Wolfcub, come here," I offer Harry a lopsided smile, "I don't want him to bite you by accident."

My son comes across to me, but the pain hits us both before he reaches me. I grit my teeth, then scream loudly as I arch back.

Author Notes:

Heh, that was a long one!

Hmm, I have decided that it'll be ok for Harry to join them now. He has had a large amount of time to study it over the last two years, and with James' help he has cracked it.

I have had to stop the story there because I am still debating what to make Harry. I think I'll go with a dog, so that I can have an irritated James! Any suggestions as to what breed, or whatever, are welcome, and if you have another animal in mind please let me know!

****

Crescomellonnin- Thank you, and I do like your suggestion! I like writing light-angst. I have touched on what you said in this chapter, but will return to it later. ;)

****

T.k -Kon - Lol, that's a good idea! I hadn't thought about having a bird… Thank you!

The Full Moon will be in the next chapter, I suppose! I know it was going to be this one, but at 20 pages I thought I'd cut you off early!

The essay we've been set isn't so hard, so I will probably continue to update at this sort of rate.

Thanks again


	14. Full Moon and Racing

Sirius' POV

"Move away," I tell Prongs, Lily and Harry quickly. "He won't want anyone close just after he's transformed."

Prongs nods and takes his family about 10 metres away. I nod in gratitude and transform.

Moony's transformation leaves him panting on his side, so I lick his muzzle comfortingly.

_Padfoot?_ He looks over at me

_Hey,_ I reply, _you ok, Moony? _

_Yes,_ he gets to his feet and nudges our cub with his nose

Wolfcub has fainted, but is curled up in a tight ball. Moony whines softly and I come over and nuzzle him reassuring.

_Is he ok? _Prongs walks over to us slowly.

_He is,_ I reply,_ he's fainted, probably from the shock._

Moony growls softly, but seems pacified when Prongs lies down. Wolfcub stirs slightly and whines. Moony starts nuzzling him while making small purring noises. I wag my tail, then look over at Lily and Harry.

_Is he not joining us?_ I ask Prongs.

Prongs looks over his shoulder,_I don't know. Shall I ask?_

_No, I'll do it._ I transform back into my human form and stand up straight.

"Harry? Are you not joining us?" I ask.

He blinks in surprise,

"Right, yeah. Sorry."

I nod then glance down at Moony, who is whining and licking my hand,

"Sorry, Moony," I smile, then transform back.

_Wolfcub may be ill…_Moony whines to me softly.

_He's tired, he hasn't run before, he is young, _I tell him.

I watch as Wolfcub struggles to his feet and looks around. Moony wags his tail happily and nuzzles at our cub. Wolfcub wags his tail, but still seems dazed. I sense another creature move up behind me, but I can smell that it is Harry, so I don't turn around.

Moony, on the other hand, looks up and growls angrily at the intruder. I hear Prongs get to his feet and snort angrily in response. Moony looks to me for back up, and I turn round and growl at Prongs.

Prongs and I realised a long time ago that sometimes to keep Moony happy we had to almost act out our parts. Moony expects us to act like wolves, so would expect a little infighting when something new happens.

I suddenly notice Harry for the first time. He's a large, almost wolfish, white dog! I would howl with laughter, but I'm rather in the middle of things… He's lying with his head on his paws and his ears down in submission. I notice his eyes are brilliantly green.

_Prongs has brought his cub,_ I tell Moony I feel him at my side as he assesses this.

He walks forward cautiously and growls at Harry. Harry whimpers and rolls onto his back. Prongs snorts again and I step forward to stand between him and my Mate. Moony sniffs at Harry's neck and I watch Harry flinch as Moony nips him gently.

I step forward to join my Mate.

_Padfoot,_ Harry greets me.

_Harry,_ I wag my tail. Harry gets to his feet but keeps his head lowered slightly.

Moony seems satisfied by this and trots back to our own cub. Wolfcub seems a bit more bouncy now and puts his paws up on Moony's chest to greet him. I join them and receive a similar greeting.

Prongs and Harry move up behind us and Moony watches them anxiously. He looks to me, again, for guidance. I decided to just get this over with and nudge Wolfcub towards the rest of the Pack.

Moony whimpers, but accepts my decision. Wolfcub is unfazed and bounces over to greet them. Prongs nudges him with his nose and licks him wetly, which just seems to make his tail wag faster. Harry glances at Moony, then nuzzles Wolfcub gently. Wolfcub rolls over on his back then jumps back up and runs over to me. He starts chewing on my ear, for some reason, but I shake him off.

_Ok,_ I wag my tail,_ Wolfcub, do you feel ok? _

_Yes,_ he bounds round me and tries to pounce on my tail.

I wag my tail.

I move out of the way a little and Wolfcub runs at Harry instead. Harry promptly pounces on him and they have a bit of a race around Moony and I. Moony follows them at first, but them seems to decide that Harry means our cub no harm, and nuzzle against me instead.

I watch Lily walk to stand at Prongs' side, she pets his neck and tells him something, then walks inside.

Prongs?

She's cold, he tells me. _She's going to read a book in the living room. She'll come out to meet us in the morning, _he tells me.

Moony lies down beside me and watches the two 'cubs' play. I stretch, yawn and settle beside him.

_I just knew he'd be a dog…_Prongs comments.

I give him a doggy grin.

_At least he's not black…_ he continues.

_I want to run,_ Moony looks up at me_, please? _

_Certainly,_ I tell him._ Do you have anywhere in mind?_

_The park?_

_I don't know, Prongs?_

_I can transform, so that we are less noticeable,_ Prongs suggests._ One guy walking his dogs isn't unusual._

_Agreed,_ I nod._ Let's go._

James' POV

I jog down the street to keep up with the Pack.

I'm pretty certain that Padfoot is setting a fast pace on purpose. By the time we reach the Park I am gasping for breath.

Padfoot just shoots me a doggy grin and bounds off across the grass. Moony gives chase and tackles his Mate to the ground. They wrestle with each other for a while then Padfoot pulls back to check on Harry and Wolfcub.

Wolfcub approaches Moony as if stalking him, pauses, with his arse wiggling in the air, then pounces on one Moony's front right paw. Moony knocks him over gently and nuzzles at his stomach.

Meanwhile, Padfoot has tempted Harry into a race. The two of them are running flat out towards the end of the field then they spin around and race back. It's clear, even from where I'm standing, that Padfoot is in the lead. After winning the race by a clear five metres Padfoot pounces on Harry and they wrestle for a while.

I just watch in amusement.

There is an old lady with a chiwawa walking towards us. I notice Moony's head jerks up and he growls low in his throat.

Padfoot comes to stand beside him, and they watch the small dog together. Harry cocks his head to one side, but isn't interested. Wolfcub, on the other hand, bounds over to the small animal, wagging his tail wildly.

I move to step towards him, but am beaten to it by Padfoot, who just gets his son by the scruff of the neck and carries him away. I watch as Moony and Harry follow him across the field.

"Sorry about that," I smile to the lady. "They act very like a wild Pack at times, that's why I bring them out at night."

She scowls slightly,

"Aren't you James Potter?"

I blink, surprised,

"Err, yes. As a mater of fact I am."

She smiles suddenly,

"I thought that cub looked like a werewolf."

"You're a witch?" I ask, politely.

"Yes indeed!" she beams at me. "And I've read all about you, Remus, Sirius, Lily and Devlin in the paper."

I nod,

"And you aren't afraid of them?"

"I trust you," she confides. "Before… I was all for killing the lot of them. But you and young Lily! You are saviours of the wizarding world! If you are friends with them they must be ok."

"Thank you," I smile. "Remus would like that."

She nods,

"The poor boy… everyone thinking he had something to do with it just because his Mate had been wrongly accused…" she sighs.

"He has a second chance now," I murmur.

She smiles gently,

"He deserves it. You all do. Good night now."

"You too, good night," I nod to her as she walks away, the small dog at her heels.

I cast another look across the park and see that there is nobody else around. I transform back into Prongs and rejoin the Pack.

I find Padfoot lying on his back with Wolfcub on his chest. Moony is lying beside Harry and watching his Mate playing.

_Prongs,_ Moony greets me with my name and a wag of his tail.

_Let's race,_ Padfoot rolls to his feet.

Moony also gets up and they both look at me.

_Ok,_ I agree._ Where to? _

_The end of the field and back,_ Moony suggests.

_Right,_ Padfoot agrees._ Ready, steady…GO!_

Luckily Harry had decided to stay with Wolfcub, as the three of us would have probably left him alone otherwise.

At first I'm in the lead, as always, but the field is large… The increased stamina of the two canines comes into it's own as they overtake me before we have even reached the end of the field. Three of us spin around and sprint back, but it is quite clear who the winner is.

Moony finishes the race a full three metres in front of his Mate, and twenty-or-so in front of me. Moony wags his tail and rolls onto his back as Padfoot approaches him. I pant loudly as I watch them nuzzling each other happily.

Wolfcub, I notice, is now curled up with Harry. His face almost buried in Harry's thick white fur. I settle down beside them as we watch Moony and Padfoot fooling around.

_Is it always like this?_ Harry asks.

_Often, yes,_ I reply happily._ They like to play. Sometimes we play as a group, sometimes we explore and sometimes, if it's cold, we just curl up and sleep._

Harry seems satisfied and curls up around Wolfcub.

_So, on the Moon, it was Padfoot and Moony, and Wormtail and Prongs?_

_Yeah,_ I agree._ They are Mates, so they do like to be together. Wormtail and me were often just along for the ride. _

_Did you get jealous?_ He asks, after we sit in silence for a while.

Jealous?

Yeah. I mean, Moony took away your best friend and you were left with just Peter.

I was a little jealous, I guess, but not because of that. I'd been doting over your mother for years, and suddenly, from under my nose, Sirius and Remus have got themselves life partners. I was jealous of their bond, but I didn't object to being left with Peter. I liked Peter; we had fun together.

Remus' POV

I groan softly after my transformation,

"Sirius?" I call for my Mate.

"Right here, Love," I feel his hand against my cheek.

"Devlin?" I attempt to sit up, but Sirius presses me back down.

"I have him, relax Moony."

I nod slowly, close my eyes and let my head drop back down against the grass.

"Here," I feel a blanket being put across my naked body.

"Thanks Prongs," Sirius replies. "Right, now for the hard part."

I feel myself being scooped into my Mate's arms. I put my own arms around his neck automatically. I start to fall asleep when I feel a slight weight being rested on my lap, and realise that Devlin is there clinging to my blanket.

Sirius' POV

"I'll get these two dressed, then I'll be back down," I whisper to Prongs and Harry.

They nod in agreement and open the door for me to enter the house.

Once I have Moony and Wolfcub dressed I rejoin the others in the lounge.

"Hey," Lily smiles, "how did it go?"

"It was ok," I reply as I adjust Moony against my side and Wolfcub between us, but on my lap. "Moony adjusted to Harry quicker than I thought he would, and Wolfcub was positively bouncy."

She laughs easily,

"I saw that! He's so sweet!"

I smile back,

"I'll admit I was worried at first."

"Me too," Prongs nods, "sheesh, I thought he was dead!"

I shoot him a grimace,

"Don't remind me."

"Sorry, Padfoot."

"The park was fun," Harry grins. "Except that Padfoot is faster than me."

I grin,

"That's from years of working out with a werewolf. I have to be fast to keep up with Moony."

"There was nobody about," Prongs reports, "so I was able to transform as well."

"We had our first flat-out long-distance race," I report, "Moony won, of course."

"Which is why we stuck to the forest for the most part, when we were at school," Prongs adds. "I could out run these two when they have to scramble of bushes and the such."

"Mmm…" Moony snuggles closer to me as he stirs then his eyes open a crack, "Padfoot?"

"Hey Moony," I smile at him, then kiss his nose.

His nose wrinkles but he smiles happily, closes his eyes and settles back against me.

"Who wants to make bets on when Wolfcub becomes fully with it?" Prongs asks.

"As in, before or after Remus?" Harry asks, then yawns widely.

"Yeah," Prongs nods. "Moony comes to at about 11, no mater if it's summer or winter. I think Wolfcub will be after Moony."

"He's younger; I'll go with before," I reply.

"I'll go with you," Harry tells Prongs, "after."

"Lily?" James prompts.

She rolls her eyes,

"The exact same time."

We roll our eyes and laugh.

"Lily hates having to decide whether to side with Prongs or I," I explain to Harry.

Harry yawns again.

"I agree with Harry," Prongs yawns too, "I'll get us some coffee. Lily, you having tea?"

"No, I'll have a coffee, thanks." She smiles, "I need stronger than tea after an all-nighter."

Prongs laughs and heads down to the kitchen.

Later, Remus' POV

I stretch slightly and bump into a warm body.

"Moony?"

"Hey," I smile as I open my eyes.

Sirius grins at me,

"You know, I have won the bet."

"Which bet is that?" I ask as I rub my eyes.

"Wolfcub woke up before you," Sirius grins.

"Only by five minutes," James pouts.

"Doesn't that mean I win?" Lily asks. "I mean, they were pretty much at the same time."

"Nope! I win!" my Mate grins.

"Where is Wolfcub?" I ask.

"Harry took him to have a bath," James tells me. "He's taking his godfather duties quite seriously."

"He's ok?" I rest my head against Sirius' shoulder again.

"Yeah," Sirius nods. "He passed out again after his transformation, but he came round long enough to announce that he 'likes doggies' then fell asleep."

"When he woke up again it was if nothing had happened," Lily smiles.

"That's good," I smile.

Sirius suddenly sits up straighter,

"I forgot! Hah! Harry's a dog!" he whoops with laughter.

James groans and buries his face in his hands,

"Ergh… don't remind me…"

"He's gorgeous though," Lily smiles, "not a mutt like you, Padfoot. He's more like James in that respect."

I laugh at Sirius' face as he fakes being offended,

"I'm not a mutt!"

"It's funny really," I add, "as a human you are pure-bred show-dog type specimen, but as an Animagus you're a mongrel."

"Gee… thanks Moony," Sirius laughs, "what a romantic thing for you to say!"

We laugh easily.

"So, Harry's Animagus is a proper breed," James adds. "Which is it?"

"He's a Samoyed," Lily smiles. "I looked up after you left for the park."

"Wolfcub likes him," Sirius adds.

"He's lovely and furry," I grin. "Moony liked curling up next to him too."

"Padfoot's furry!" Sirius objects.

"Not that furry!" I grin. "But Padfoot is larger, which is nice."

Sirius laughs again,

"Thanks Moony, no, really, that makes me feel so good about myself!"

"Your ego is too large anyway," I tell him as I curl up closer.

Shortly Harry comes back into the room with Wolfcub.

James laughs,

"Harry, you look… wet!"

Harry rolls his eyes,

"Yes, we played the game loved by adults everywhere called let's-see-how-much-water-we-can-get-out-of-the-bath-by-splashing…" he grins. "I did do you a favour and dried the floor, though."

Sirius just laughs,

"Wolfcub, did you get Uncle Harry all wet?"

Wolfcub beams and nods enthusiastically,

"Yes! Very wet!"

"Good boy!"

I roll my eyes at Lily,

"I give up."

She nods,

"I did that too; James taught Harry to do the same thing."

"Moony," Wolfcub climbs onto the sofa with me.

"Hey, are you ok?"

He nods,

"I had fun. Like Full Moon, but not hurt."

I smile as I hug him close,

"I know what you mean."

Later, Sirius' POV

The others have gone home and Wolfcub is playing up in his room. I have just told Moony the statistics for the werewolf cubs in the Ministry. He looks very pale.

"Moony, breathe Love," I rub his back. "I love you…"

He nods and takes a sudden gasping breath,

"That's sick…" he's eyes tear up.

"I know, Baby," I pull him into my arms. "It should get better now the public know."

He nods against me,

"Will you check the cages when you go in tomorrow?"

"I will," I promise him. "What do you want me to do if there are any there?"

"Bring them home," he replies. "We can't… can't keep them all, but they can stay with us until we find them new homes."

I nod,

"You sure?"

He nods,

"We can't leave them there to die, Sirius."

"I agree," I sigh. "It's a good job we have lots of space and a lot of money…"

He bites his lip and I berate myself harshly,

"That isn't how I meant it, Moony. Even if we had hardly any money I would still do this because it is the right thing to do. Don't guilt trip yourself into thinking I don't want to do this," I hug him tighter.

"What did I do to deserve a brilliant Mate like you?" he smiles up at me.

I smile,

"You were yourself."

"James is worried about you," he murmurs.

I nod,

"Yeah, I know."

"You are ok, aren't you?"

"I'm ok; worried, but ok."

"About Wolfcub and me?"

"Yeah. You know I hate it when you go all silent on me. I love you, your mind more than your body… Your mind leaves me when you get like that. It's like I'm with a different man."

"You feel that you are cheating on me?"

I shrug,

"Partially," I admit reluctantly. "Are you still in there when that happens?"

"I can hear you," he snuggles closer. "It's similar to when I'm the wolf; I can hear you and see you, but I can't control my body."

I nod,

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Only," he continues, "I can suggest things to the wolf, whereas I can't when I'm like that."

"Sounds like a nightmare," I sigh.

"It's ok," he fiddles with the buttons of my shirt. "You're with me."

Remus' POV

I watch Padfoot telling Wolfcub a Muggle story called Goldilocks and the Three Bears. He alters it though, to make it more 'interesting', which basically involves the girl being found by the bears and having a food fight… Wolfcub seems to like it, though, as he is laughing loudly and repeatedly asking for 'more' whenever Sirius says 'The End'.

It is getting to the point when, for some reason, Goldilocks has developed the ability to summon daemons from hell, when Devlin finally falls asleep.

Sirius sighs with relief,

"Finally!" he grins. "You could have helped me out, Moony."

"I don't want him to think I'm the excessively responsible one that won't let him have any fun," I smirk. "Besides, I like to watch you thinking on your feet."

"Thanks a lot," he grins despite himself, then takes our son upstairs.

I retreat to our bedroom, get changed then wait for him to join me.

He shakes his head as he walks in,

"That has got to be the most ridiculous story I have ever told anyone in my entire life," he tells me as he gets changed.

"Some of the ones you told Harry were pretty stupid too," I tell him, "but yeah, that was rather out there…"

He slips into bed beside me and pulls me close,

"It was fun though," he grins.

I laugh,

"Well, I have just elected you his storyteller then."

"You don't expect me to repeat the performance, do you?"

"At least once a night," I smirk. "Don't worry, there are other stories you can massacre."

"The next one in the book is Little Red Riding Hood," he replies, "I'll really have to alter that one."

"Is that the one with the wolf?" I ask.

"Yeah," he nods then yawns.

I sigh against him,

"Have the wolf as the good guy."

"With a spaceship!" he smirks.

While my Mate was confined to Grimmauld I introduced him to Muggle comics. I thought they might be right up his alley… I was right.

"How does a spaceship…? Err; pretend I didn't ask…" I change my mind.

Sirius laughs tiredly,

"Goodnight, Moony."

"Mmm, goodnight Padfoot."

Author Notes:

Hello again! Sorry about the wait, but when I told you it wouldn't be long I didn't count on being sent out of the flat… Anyway! Here we go; the Full Moon! I wasn't sure how much I should include with them as actual animals, but I think it came out ok.

MidniteMarauder- I wasn't sure what a Samoyed was at first, then I looked it up on google. Talk about cute! Yay! Anyway, I went with that, thank you. ;)

T.k -Kon- One pissed of Prongs! Sort off… ;p

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed! Even those of you who threatened to kill me if I didn't update soon… ;)

As always, any suggestions or spelling corrections are more than welcome! My betas are great, but they can't spell any better than I can!

Thanks again


	15. Cages and Learning to Write

Remus' POV

"Moony, I love you," I hear my Mate. "I'll see you tonight."

"Mmm? Sirius?" I reach of him blindly.

"Hey," he catches my hand and presses it to his cheek.

My eyes flicker open,

"You're going?"

"I have to go to work," he nods. "Are you going to be ok?"

I smile weakly,

"Sure. Please don't stay late."

"I'll leave early," he grins. "I love you."

"Love you, too," I smile happily, then retreat back under the duvet.

I hear him laugh then a crack as he leaves. I sigh softly then roll over and peer at the clock.

"7 o'clock?" I groan aloud. "Padfoot, are you insane?"

I bury my head and try to get back to sleep. After a few minutes I hear footsteps on the stairs, then Wolfcub climbs up onto the bed beside me. He pats the duvet I am hiding under and I lift it a little to look at him. He smiles and slips under the cover to curl up against me.

"Hey, Devlin," I cuddle him, "are you ok?"

"Couldn't sleep…" he murmurs.

I nod,

"Yeah. I get that after the Moon sometimes."

I don't bother to tell him that having a Mate helps.

I stroke his hair gently and he sighs happily. He snuggles a bit closer to me, and I wrap the duvet around us.

"Padfoot gone to work?" he asks quietly.

"He's at the Ministry, yes," I nod.

I feel him tense against me,

"Ministry?" he looks up at me with wide scared eyes.

"Yes," I smile reassuringly, "but it's ok. Not all at the Ministry are evil, ok?"

He bites his lip and nods.

"You sure you're ok?" I stroke his cheek with my thumb.

He nods again,

"Hurt a little, then was fun," he smiles again.

I can't help but think we were lucky that he fainted. I think it probably spared him from the brunt of the pain.

Sirius seems to think that he could cope because, as a child, Devlin doesn't understand that turning into an animal isn't a normal occurrence.

Either way we were lucky.

"Good," I smile back. "Try and get some rest, ok?"

He nods and curls up closer to me,

"Love you…"

I feel heartened,

"I love you too."

Sirius' POV

I apperate over to the Burrow where Prongs is waiting for me.

"How's things?" he stands up from the doorstep.

I raise an eyebrow,

"When I said I wanted you to wait for me so we could go together I didn't quite mean that…" I flick my hand towards where he was sitting.

He grins,

"Ah, well, I couldn't chance you coming in and getting comfy. You would only forget what we plan to do today."

I smirk,

"Charming. Well, shall we?"

Prongs shrugs, smirks and then Disapperates. I follow him to the Ministry.

"So," he claps his hands together as we head for the lifts, "what is our plan of attack?"

"Well, I was thinking we could go with the old flour-and-water tack," I tell him mock-seriously.

"Darn," he slaps his forehead; "I left mine at home. We'll have to think of something else…"

I laugh,

"Well, I'm not sure it would have worked anyway, Prongs, as much as I hate to burst your bubble."

"You're joking?" he grins. "How could a classic like flour-and-water fail to aid our attempt at breaking into the top secret Headquarters of the Ministry?"

"I really hope no one is listening to this conversation…" I roll my eyes.

"Which level is it?" he changes to subject as we enter the lift.

"Four," I murmur, then lounge back against the back wall.

"Right," he presses the button, then every other button on the panel.

Thanks to Prongs' mature behaviour we make very slow progress in the lift, as it insists upon halting at every floor. By the time we reach theforth floor I am surely looking rather irate and Prongs is giggling like a madman.

"I worry about you…" I mutter as we walk off down the corridor.

He matches my stride effortlessly as we make quick work of the long corridor.

"Reminds me of back at Hogwarts," he grins.

I laugh,

"Yeah, we strode around then too."

"All we need is Snape and we complete the picture," he shakes his head.

"That's the stuff nightmares are made of," I mock shudder.

We walk in silence until we arrive at the cages. We observe them without speaking, or moving to check for inhabitants, each thinking our own thoughts.

"You had nightmares in Azkaban," Prongs states rather than asks.

I tense momentarily, then turn to look him in the eye,

"Yes."

"What of?" he asks quietly.

"Why?" I ask.

He looks away,

"I just… I feel guilty I suppose. I should have left some sort of will…"

We fall into silence again.

"You and Lily," I murmur, "and Harry of course. Seeing the house on fire… that featured rather heavily… Watching Peter skulk off into the drains…" I shrug, "it wasn't your fault, though. It was my idea to use Peter…"

"Don't," he clasps my shoulder suddenly, "it's ok."

I nod,

"Thank you."

He nods,

"What about Moony?"

"I had no memories of Moony when I was inside…" I sigh. "Remembering him would have been a happy memory."

He winces,

"Yeah, I guess so."

I smile suddenly,

"He was the first thing I remembered when I escaped. You have no idea how brilliant that felt…" I see Prongs grinning at me. "Yeah, I'm gone. I know."

"It's scary how far gone you are…" he shakes his head.

We stand in silence for a moment, then I rub my hands together,

"Well, we'd better see if there is anybody here."

We move to the first cage and look through the small window. There is nobody inside.

This trend continues through all the cages. I release a sigh.

"Well, I guess this is good news," Prongs claps me on the shoulder as we head back to the lift.

"I guess," I agree. "But I think it is more likely that they just haven't arrived yet. It might take a few days for them to be well enough to be moved."

"People might have read the papers and followed our example," Prongs suggests.

"You take the whole optimist thing to a whole new level," I tell him.

Remus' POV

Before today I had no idea how long it took to teach children how to write.

I was a teacher before, sure, but those students did at least know how to read.

"No, Devlin," I say for the hundredth time. "You're doing really well, but look at how I wrote it above."

I watch as he scowls in concentration and tries to write his name. He looks up at me hopefully and I smile reassuringly,

"There, that's great!"

"Got it right?" he grins.

"Yes, you did," I smile as I look down at the crude scrawl that vaguely resembles 'Devlin'.

"Show Padfoot," he clutches the piece of paper.

"He'll be proud of you," I stroke his hair.

I hear the front door open and voices drift down the stairs.

"Padfoot!" Devlin yells as he runs up the stairs clutching his paper. "See what I did!"

I follow him up the stairs and smile at my Mate. Padfoot offers me a grin, then turns back to our son.

"Oh wow," he grins. "We'll have to put that on the wall or something."

Wolfcub beams again then turns to Prongs,

"Read story!" he requests, then drags him away.

Padfoot smirks at Prongs' distressed look,

"You two have fun."

"Oh, we will…" Prongs rolls his eyes so that Wolfcub cannot see. "Come on then, Devlin, what story to you want?"

They walk up the stairs and I'm alone with Sirius.

"Hi, Moony," he smiles then rubs my check gently with his thumb.

"Hi," I close my eyes and step into his arms. He holds me close.

"What's wrong?" he murmurs in my ear as he rocks me slightly.

"I'm tired," I tell him. "I've spent the last six hours teaching Devlin to write his name…"

He kisses my neck,

"You're exaggerating, I don't think Wolfcub's attention span is even half as long as that."

"Ok," I smile, "but it felt like six hours."

He laughs gently,

"He needs time, I don't suppose he had much human interaction at all at the Ministry, and they certainly didn't teach him anything."

I pull back suddenly,

"The cages?"

"There was nobody in them, Love," he kisses the end of my nose. "Prongs and I both checked."

I nod,

"And Prongs is here now because…?"

"He hung out with me at the office today," he shrugs, "I invited him home. I think he is getting claustrophobic at the Burrow."

I laugh,

"He spent the day in your poky little office instead of in the countryside because he's getting claustrophobic?"

"Yeah, well, Prongs always has been a little peculiar."

Later, Sirius' POV

"See ya, Prongs."

"Whatever, Padfoot," he smirks, then Disapperates.

"Charming man, is Prongs," I tell Moony.

Moony just rolls his eyes,

"I've put Devlin to bed."

"Ah, so we have some time just for us!" I grin and pull him into my arms.

He smiles and rests his head against my chest,

"I love you."

"Well, that's good, because I happen to worship the ground you've walked on."

He laughs, then turns more serious,

"You will check the cages again tomorrow?"

"I will check them everyday," I promise him.

Author Notes:

It's a short one, I know… I have seriously lost where I'm going with this story… Anyway! I'll muddle through, I'm sure. In the mean time, and suggestions are welcome.

Miss Anonymous hp- Lol, I'll think about it!

Silverone3- Hermione? Oh yes… I seem to remember her… (Hits self over head…) heh heh… Yes, I'll try to fit her in somewhere… I had her rather absent in Rewards and explained it by her studying, but then Harry is studying too and still manages to appear… Hmmm…. (Mind runs riot with possibilities…) Thanks!

Gil de hu- Danke! And I am willing to bet your English is better than my German!

Shadow Cat17- Lol, how many reviews did you leave anyway? Thanks though, and as requested, I have updated!

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed!


	16. More bad news

Sirius' POV

"Sirius?" I hear Moony come into the room behind me.

I drop my head backwards over the top of the sofa to try and see him. As it turns out all I manage to do is make him laugh at me…

"Yeah?" I rub my neck as he comes round in front of me.

"Do you mind buying me some books, paper and pens? I'm trying to teach Wolfcub to read and write, but I'm running short of paper."

"Certainly. Do you mean notebooks, or storybooks?"

"Storybooks," Moony reiterates.

"Ok, I'll do that tomorrow after work."

He smiles and settles himself onto the sofa beside me. I put my arm around him and he rests his head on my shoulder.

"Tired?" I ask him, rubbing his back gently as he curls up to me.

"Mmmm…" he just purrs.

I laugh softly,

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Where is Wolfcub?" I ask after a few minutes.

"In his room practicing to write the letters up to J," he presses his nose against my neck.

"He likes being taught by you," I murmur against his hair.

"It's a novelty. He'll get over it," Moony chuckles.

"I never have," I tell him.

He shakes his head and I can feel his amusement.

"You're biased. You're my Mate."

"He's biased too," I murmur. "He's your son."

Moony is silent for a few minutes,

"You think he thinks of us that way?"

"Why shouldn't he?"

"We are both men, Sirius."

"He's only three, Love. How would he know any different?"

"He calls us Padfoot and Moony."

"Only because he doesn't know the word Daddy," I kiss his temple.

"I guess so…" he murmurs.

"Padfoot!" Wolfcub bounces into the room waving a piece of paper in the air.

I beckon him over and he climbs easily on to the sofa beside me, and then onto my lap. He shows me the ten letters he's been practicing.

"That's great," I grin at him.

"I learn more lets now?" he asks Moony.

"Letters," Moony corrects him with a smile. "I'll teach you some more tomorrow. How about we go to the Burrow now?"

"See Lily and Ginny?" he smiles.

"Yes," my Mate nods. "We can have dinner there."

"Yummy," he nods happily. "Find toys."

He scrambles back off the sofa and runs back up the stairs.

"We should probably tell him not to run on the stairs…" I mutter.

"He's a werewolf," Moony stretches and stands up. "He has good balance, he'll be fine."

I give him a surprised look,

"You tell me off when I run on the stairs!"

"That's because you are a klutz," he smirks at me as he walks out of the room.

"Charming," I sigh, before following him.

Remus' POV

"Sirius! Remus! Devlin, honey!" Molly waves us in. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Hey guys!" James, waves to us as we enter the living room. "How's things?"

I put Devlin down and he runs straight to his godfather.

"I drawed lett-rahs!" he shows him his writing.

James acts suitably impressed, then starts tickling him.

"Drew letters…" I correct, but he clearly isn't listening to me. Sirius just grins.

"What's for dinner?" my Mate asks.

"Sheppard's pie," Molly smiles before bustling off into the kitchen.

Devlin escapes from James' torture, and runs to Lily instead, who scoops him onto her lap and holds him close as he says the names of the letters in turn.

"Something's wrong," I murmur suddenly.

"What?" Sirius' head whips round to look at me from beside me on the sofa.

"James and Lily are nervous about something," I reply quietly. "Can you not sense their tension?"

Sirius glares at James,

"You think it's about…?"

"The cubs? Yes, I do."

"You think they know something new," he states.

"Yes," I reply unnecessarily.

"I'm going to talk to Prongs," he tells me shortly before striding over to his best friend and all but dragging him out of the room.

Sirius' POV

"Prongs? What's happened?"

"That was quick," Prongs looks mildly amused.

"What?"

"Moony picked up on that very quickly," he shrugs.

"He's a little highly strung at the moment," I murmur, then stick my hands in my pockets as I lean against the wall.

"Never would have guessed," he sighs.

"So…?" I prompt after a moment of silence.

"The ministry were not impressed about the sudden swing of public opinion over werewolves," he whispers, then glances back the way we came. "Shall we go for a walk?"

I nod quickly and lead the way out the back of the house and over into the fields beyond.

"This would be a lovely place to live…" I change the subject briefly as we cross the garden. "I understand why he wants to live at Grimmauld… but, well, you know."

Prongs nods,

"There's a lot more space here, especially as you are obviously considering taking on more of the children."

"Hmm," I agree quietly.

We walk squeeze though the hedge and walk on for a few minutes in silence before I can't wait anymore.

"Ok, what do you know?"

"The ministry are no longer 'storing' the werewolves in London," he tells me. "They have started sending them to one of the Ministry buildings left over from the war, up north in a place called Skipton."

"Where the blazes is that?" I wave my hand around in irritation.

"North Yorkshire," he tells me calmly.

"North… oh you're joking, tell me you're joking?" I stare at him.

"Nope," he shrugs. "They're now sending the kids to what used to be the staging zone for prisoners going to Azkaban."

I snort with mock humour,

"Well, at least I know the territory, for when we go to get them," I glare at him, daring him to disagree.

"Tonight?" he asks, not even remotely phased.

I nod,

"Of course. Do you want to ask Harry to come?"

"No, he really shouldn't be getting into trouble so early in his career unless he has to," Prongs shrugs.

I laugh shortly,

"Where as me and you have proved ourselves?"

He smirks,

"We've proved ourselves unreliable, nothing we can do now."

"True," I nod and turn to head back to the Burrow.

"Will Moony come?"

"He'll want to, I think," I shrug. "But I won't let him. Somebody has to stay with Wolfcub."

"Padfoot," he catches my arm, "are you ok?"

I jerk away from him glaring,

"Oh, I'm just great Prongs! Brilliant! Super doper!" I start to stride off again, but he grabs my arm again.

"Padfoot, if you're not up for this I'll go with Harry."

"I'm fine," I growl out between gritted teeth after unsuccessfully trying to break his grip.

"No, you're not," he tells me. "Padfoot, I'm your best friend. Talk to me."

I snort and look away,

"I'm not sure I can do this, Prongs."

"Do what?"

"I'm a father!" I hiss urgently. "I think I can cope with one…" I tail off.

"Padfoot, you're doing fine. You'll continue to do fine," he grips my shoulder. "Padfoot, you think me and Evans are just going to sit back and laugh if anything happens to you?"

"No," I agree, looking out across the fields again, "but those kids can't just get passed around when we get them home. They need stability; either Remus and I have to take them, or you and Evans or whatever. It wouldn't be fair to anyone involved to move them around."

"No," he agrees, "but that isn't going to happen. Padfoot it'll be fine. Kids love you. You're a kid yourself after all."

Now I do laugh,

"Yeah, ok, but these kids are going to have problems. Is it fair to try and look after too many?"

"Is it fair to leave them in a cage in the Ministry? Look, Padfoot, I know what this is; you just want me to confirm what you already know. You're doing the right thing, mate, that's all that maters."

"Thanks, Prongs," I grip his arm briefly in thanks.

"He does love you," I hear him say as I start to turn away.

I feel myself wince and I close my eyes, taking a deep steadying breath.

"That's what this is really about," he shakes his head. "You really think Moony doesn't love you?"

"How can I tell? He can't complain!" I almost beg him for answers. "I'm the alpha, he's the beta. He can't complain to me, its not the way the Pack dynamics work. He could hate me and I would never know. He always tried so hard to make me happy…"

"Padfoot…"

"Prongs, you know what he was like when we first mated," I shake my head in desperation ignore his interruption. "What if he never really got over the werewolf's urge to act happy to make me happy? What if all the years we've had together has been an illusion? What…?"

"Padfoot, don't be ridiculous!"

"You know bloody well its not ridiculous!"

Prongs just glares at me.

"I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" I shoot my best friend an apologetic look.

"Yes," he rolls his eyes.

I take a deep breathe,

"Sorry, Prongs."

He claps me on the shoulder,

"Don't worry about it."

We turn and fall in step together as we walk back to the Burrow.

"Padfoooooot!" Devlin calls out to me as he runs across the garden. "Molly say dinner ready!"

"Ah," I grin and scoop him into my arms, "excellent! I'm starving."

"Thas what Moony say you would say," he tells me seriously.

"Moony is a very intelligent man," I tell him.

Remus' POV

I watch Sirius carrying our son back to the Burrow through the window.

He's smiling, but it's a slightly forced smile. Devlin doesn't appear to notice though, and just bounces in Sirius' arms as he walks.

"Everything will be ok," Lily tells me in a very matter-of-fact tone.

I smile at her,

"I hope so."

Later

"They have put children in that place?" I whisper.

Sirius doesn't answer my question. He has, after all, answered it five times in the last few minutes. He just rocks me in his arms, with his face against my hair.

"We're going to get them out of there, Moony," he murmurs. "We'll protect them."

"When are we going?" I pull myself together a little and lean back to look my Mate in the eyes.

"You're not going," he tells me calmly. "You're staying here with Wolfcub. I'm going with Prongs."

I scowl slightly,

"Because you think Wolfcub needs protection? Or because you think I do?"

"That is a stupid question," he kisses my nose. "You are more than capable of looking after yourself. I know that Moony."

I drop my head back to his chest,

"You're going right away?"

"Do you want me to wait?" he pulls away and gets up. "I'll see you shortly."

He shoots me a smile, then Disapperates.

Author notes / Author grovelling

I'm in hiding. Don't flame me for ignoring you for so long… grovel grovel…

I would love tell you that there is a really good reason for me not updating in ABSOLUTELY AGES! But there isn't… Facts are I got writers block and couldn't finish this chapter to save my life. I'm not convinced I like it now, but to I guess I just need to get this out in whatever form I can and just try to start on the next chapter. My other story is equally cursed at the moment… I just can't seem to get into the right frame of mind at the moment.

Anyway, enough excuses, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, especially those of you who have been pestering me. I would hate to let you down. Hopefully you won't have to wait so long for the next one. :)


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